Letter: Young need our support - 30/10/09
We read last week's article about the teenagers who had set up their own temporary skate ramp in Wharf Road car park. Fair enough, South Kesteven District Council said it had to take it down for health and safety reasons.
But come on people – aren't you a little bit impressed that some teenagers at least took the initiative to sort something out for themselves? It's so easy to complain about them being lazy and spending all day on their computers. But when they try and do something positive, there's usually someone to put a damper on it.
The volunteers on the Skatepark Committee have so far raised about 53,000 in18 months to build a new skatepark on the Rec.
We are still waiting to hear what is happening with the proposed transfer of the Rec from the district council to Stamford Town Council. We can't apply for any major grants until permission is given to build. But this isn't just about a new skatepark. It's about youth provision in general for the young people of Stamford and surrounding villages.
The only youth clubs are provided by churches or scouts/guides.
Sports facilities are very structured and tend to be run by schools. For those young people who want to do something independently, where can they go? Stamford has no proper swimming pool/no leisure centre with sports hall/no bowling ally/no purpose built youth centre.
So where exactly can skaters use their equipment to practise their skills? And what about those young people who enjoy the challenge of off-road biking? Where can they go without annoying residents?
An elderly friend of mine once asked why I was fundraising for a new skatepark, when he had nothing like that during the war. When I asked what he and his friends used to get up to, his answer was 'we used to play on the railway lines'.
Young people have always found ways to entertain themselves – surely we should enable them to do this in a relatively safe way (there will always be some risks involved with a sport such as skateboarding)
If anyone would like to know more about the skatepark project, please look at our website on www.stamfordskatepark.co.uk.
Sally Jordan
Secretary, Stamford Skatepark Committee, Roxburgh Road Stamford
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