Skateboarders to campaign for park

10:38am Wednesday 26th September 2001

YOUNGSTERS have got together with professional stunt riders and a skate shop to campaign for a ramp park.

Children as young as eight have written to councillors pleading for a dedicated skate area in Bromley. They feel they are not wanted on the streets and there is nowhere for them to go.

Josh Lamb, eight, of Crest View Drive, Petts Wood, said: “We have written to the council but they have not responded. There is a skate park in Beckenham but there's an age limit. The only other place to go is in Swanley but it is a long way to travel.”

Jo Roberts, 12, of Crest View Drive, said: “We would be willing to pay to use the park which could create revenue for the borough.”

Spoeaking for the council, head of marketing and cultural development Brian Turpin said: “We would like the children to have somewhere to go. The problem is finding an area local residents are happy for a skate park to be built and, of course, funds.”

Manager of Urban Chaos, Bromley, Edward Stitson said: “At the moment the kids have to skate on the street, where they are not wanted, if we were given a piece of land then we would be out of the way of people who don't want us there.”

Trisha Perry of Churchill Insurance, Bromley, said: “They are a nuisance. Our security guard has to spend a lot of time moving them on.”