Recreation Ground skate ramps to stay another month

1:50pm Thursday 10th January 2013 in News By Lawrence Dunhill

Flackwell skate ramps to stay another month Flackwell skate ramps to stay another month

THE controversial removal of a small skate park in Flackwell Heath is set to be delayed again while residents work to identify an alternative site.

The Recreation Ground ramps were due to be taken out this month, but Chepping Wycombe Parish Council is now likely to keep them until February 24 at least.

More than 1,000 villagers have signed petitions calling for the Rec’s youth facilities to be saved, but the council says the ramps are too close to residents’ houses, so do not meet the relevant noise guidelines.

Flackwell Heath Residents Association has asked the council to delay the removal while it appeals to villagers to help find an alternative location for the ramps.

Chairman Jeff Herschel said: “A proposition is going to council to delay it for a short period of time and not to take it out before that date.

“The last thing we want to do is take the ramps out but we need to do so.”

Cllr Herschel was hoping a BMX trail could be created at Oak Wood off Heath End Road, but this fell through after other councillors vetoed the plan at the last minute (see related links).

Meanwhile, mum Natalie Allen, who has been campaigning to keep the ramps, has sent the Bucks Free Press a photograph showing the proximity of houses to the skate park in Marlow.

She believes the situation is similar to that in Flackwell Heath, adding that the Marlow facility is “three times bigger”.

Marlow skate park

But according to Chepping Wycombe Parish Council, the Marlow ramps are 64 metres away from the nearest residential property. The Flackwell ramps are 11 metres from the nearest home, and 28 metres from the second nearest.

Related links

Official guidelines say skate ramps should be a minimum of 50 metres from the nearest home, the council said.

Comments(7)

Cressex Offender says...
1:56pm Thu 10 Jan 13

To be fair it's a shockingly bad park but even so NIMBYism shouldn't prevail ever!

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Dave2013 says...
10:06am Fri 11 Jan 13

Flackwell Heath’s and Marlow's skate facilities are not comparable. The site of Marlow’s facility was developed by professionals experienced in creating youth facilities, is 60m from the nearest property, was assessed by the District Council’s Environmental Health Department, is not next to a car park that can be used as an extension of the facility and other buildings that can be vandalised. The Flackwell Heath facility was put in by the Flackwell Heath Residents Association and the parish council, who were ignorant of planning guidelines, without planning permission, without any environmental assessment, where residents’ comments were ignored and located next to residential property. Consider what it is like to have your garden and house to a site where youths are actively encouraged to meet at all hours day and night. The Flackwell Heath facility is not fit for purpose on any level and can never be improved in its current location. The energy and time used in campaigning to save such an inadequate facility would be better spent helping the authorities find an alternative site in or around FH, which would better serve all members of the community. The FHRA and the PC should hang their heads in shame that they have wasted public money putting such a pathetic facility in such a poor location. The right thing to do for users and residents is for all parties to accept a mistake has been made and to put all efforts into rectifying that mistake. Build a decent facility in a viable location.

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Thamed says...
12:54pm Fri 11 Jan 13

Dave2013 i am guessing your house backs onto the park. Commiserations! They should have put it near the golf course since they have plenty of land and away from houses. Am sure the golfers would have obliged!!

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frackellgirl says...
3:16pm Fri 11 Jan 13

"pathetic facility in a poor location"? This facility is well used and popular with children of all ages and what better location than in the centre of the village in a designated playing field?
Children should be at the centre of our community - they are part of our future -why should they be shoved off to play at some inconvenient place away from the community in which they live?
The complainants have linked alleged anti-social behaviour by older youths ( a police matter) with the skatepark issue for their own ends to advance their case for demolishing this modest facility.
Some of the previous comments on this issue have been truly disgusting, with the children of Flackwell Hearh being labelled "yobs", "scum" etc. but at least I didn't ask for these comments to be removed as many of mine were. In fact, I was glad these appalling comments remained to show to others the calibre of some of the support for Jeff Hershel & co!
I believe it will be very difficult to find a site in Flackwell Heath for alternative facilities as, no doubt, the child haters and moaners will be out in force to object.

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Dave2013 says...
5:16pm Fri 11 Jan 13

Frackellgirl you are in denial. I am aware that the person the FHRA was asking to build new ramps felt that the facility was so poor that the FHRA and PC had been ripped off by the original developers. Also I believe the ramp builder the PC is currently talking to described the current site as little more than a loading bay ramp. Or maybe you know better than the experts who design these things for a living.
Also I understand that comments are removed from the BFP website when they are libellous, offensive, obscene or menacing. Maybe you should look at what you write before you criticise other posts for being disgusting.

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ImpeturbableLawrence says...
1:13pm Sat 12 Jan 13

Dave2013 wrote:
Frackellgirl you are in denial. I am aware that the person the FHRA was asking to build new ramps felt that the facility was so poor that the FHRA and PC had been ripped off by the original developers. Also I believe the ramp builder the PC is currently talking to described the current site as little more than a loading bay ramp. Or maybe you know better than the experts who design these things for a living.
Also I understand that comments are removed from the BFP website when they are libellous, offensive, obscene or menacing. Maybe you should look at what you write before you criticise other posts for being disgusting.
This sounds like a reasonable reply by Dave and also why did Natalie Allen not send a photo of the Flackwell Heath ramps in relation to houses as well?

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flacker says...
4:48pm Tue 15 Jan 13

Dave is absolutely correct - the current facilities, whilst enjoyed by the local kids, are absolutely awful. The reason they're well used is that the kids are making the best of a bad job and are generally very well behaved.

The group of people who spent residents' cash on this illegally-positioned eyesore should really be the ones at the forefront of rectifying the problem. All credit to Natalie for trying to rescue this situation, but her efforts would be better spent focussing on how and where to relocate the facilities rather than maintaining them in their current location.

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