Lease wrangle leaves skate park in doubt

PLANS to install a skate park at Portishead Lake Grounds have hit another stumbling block – after town councillors refused to take on a lease for the land earmarked for the facility.

Portishead Skatepark Project (PSP) asked Portishead Town Council to lease a piece of land between the children’s play area and boathouse at the Lake Grounds from North Somerset Council and then lease it back to the project so they could use it for the skate park.

PSP chiefs approached the town council after being told by North Somerset, which owns the Lake Grounds, that leasing the land from the town council was the preferred option.

But members of the town council’s recreation and works committee have recommended the request is refused, claiming that taking on a lease for the land from the authority is too much of a risk.

Councillors said by taking on responsibility of the land and leasing it to the PSP they could leave themselves open to future problems – including footing the bill for removing the park should local residents complain.

A final decision on whether to lease the land will be made at a meeting of Portishead Town Council this week.

Portishead councillor David Pasley said: “The general feeling of councillors was that taking on this land could put a huge drain on council resources.

“In other parts of the country, councils have been heavily fined and even told to take out skate parks after complaints from residents.

“This is not a situation we want to find ourselves in.”

The Portishead Skatepark Project (PSP) already has planning permission to site a skate park on the land at the Lake Grounds.

PSP chiefs say they will now go back and re-open discussions with North Somerset Council about the possibility of leasing the land direct from the authority.

PSP chairman Tony Mosely said: “We are very disappointed that the town council has chosen not to support us. We are still totally committed to providing a skate park at the Lake Grounds site.

“The town council also says it is committed to providing a second skate park for the town but seems to thwart our efforts at every turn.

“We will now have to go back to North Somerset Council as the only option now is to lease the land from it directly.

“We are hopeful we can get an agreement with North Somerset as there really is no other site suitable for a skate park in Portishead.”

The new skate park, which would measure about 30 metres by 20 metres, would be sunk into the site and an earth bund created around it.

The area would be landscaped and seating sunk into the slopes for spectators. It is estimated around 20 to 30 young people would use the facility at any one time, using it to either skate or ride BMX bikes.

PSP has been searching for a site for a new skate park in the town for the last two years and initially identified 14 potential areas including land at Bristol Road, a plot next to Parish Wharf Leisure Centre, Kilkenny Fields and the Lake Grounds.

Other sites, including one at Gordano School and one owned by a developer in the centre of Portishead have also been put forward as options. A small skate park was opened at Merlin Park in 2003 at a cost of £12,500, but as the popularity of the sport has soared so has the need for a bigger facility.