Skate park wins green light at last (From Bury Times)

Skate park wins green light at last

6:40am Friday 19th March 2010

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THRILL-SEEKING youngsters will soon be flocking to Prestwich to test out a new skate park.

For after more than three years of hard work, the £300,000 facility planned for St Mary’s Park has been given the go-ahead.

Skateboarders, BMX bikers and inline skaters will use the facility in the south west corner of the park, which is off Bury New Road.

Up to 170 members of Prestwich Skate Club have been visiting skate parks across the North West for inspiration and discussing what textures and obstacles are right for their facility.

After consulting with them, Bury Youth Service bosses chose the location because it is visible from Bury New Road and because it is easy to reach by public transport.

Five people wrote to the council objecting to the idea. They were concerned that it could become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

But, at a meeting on Tuesday night, Bury Council’s planning control committee gave permission for the skate park to be built.

At the meeting, Cllr Donal O’Hanlon said: “I am very supportive. This gives the young and not so young people who are interested in these sports something to do and a place to go.

“It is close to the road, there are council CCTV cameras overlooking it, and it is in a particularly boggy part of the park which generally isn’t used much.

“This is something a lot of people will want to see.”

Kerry Freeman, an area youth worker based at the Phoenix Centre in St Mary’s Park, said: “I am over the moon.

“I’ve worked on this project for nearly three years, most recently with the young people on the Skatepark Prestwich Committee. They were delighted too on hearing the news.

“There’s still a way to go, but it’s a big first step.” The next task facing the skaters is to apply for grants to raise the £300,000 needed to build the facility.

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