News

May 2010

Council looks for skatepark site

North Somerset Times

March 2010

Portishead Skatepark Project welcomes Councillors' support

Members of the Portishead Skatepark project met with local District Councillors last week to discuss the way forward for the town's long awaited new skatepark.

A number of alternative sites were proposed by the Councillors in an effort to get over the impasse at the Lake Grounds. These included some sites already explored such as Kilkenny Fields as well as a number of new locations. Councillors told the project that they would make enquiries with relevant officers in the Council to try to identify those sites that would best meet the criteria the Project have set for the new skatepark and that stood a good chance of receiving both planning permission and Landlord's Consent.

Tony Mosely for the Skatepark project told us,"It was a good meeting and we were pleased that the local district councillors are positively supporting our efforts to get a new skatepark in the town. We are looking forward to further meetings in the near future where hopefully progress can be made."

The Skatepark Project are however concerned that with the best will in the world it may not be possible to find an alternative site that sufficiently meets all the criteria. A huge amount of work will be needed to take the project to completion once a site has been agreed. Between £150,000 and £200,000 will need to be raised and the Project will need to be assured that the chosen site will meet the needs of a wide range of users and be family friendly to justify this level of expenditure.

Tony Mosely again "We are committed to working with District Councillors to find a suitable location but, as we have already discovered, finding a site that we know will be successful in the long term and that can get through both the planning process and gain landlord's consent is very difficult. We have therefore decided that in order to keep all our options open for the future we will be appealing against the refusal of planning permission for the Lake Grounds location This is our fallback position and certainly does not mean that we will not consider the other sites being discussed.

For the sake of Portishead's growing population of young people we must set aside our differences and work constructively together to make the skatepark a reality"

26 Feb 2010

Project response to Mercury interview with Cllr Pasley:

Subject: Your article re Councillor Pasley and the skatepark

Dear Martin

I am responding to your piece in the Mercury of 25th February where you give Mr. Pasley a platform to make some unsubstantiated and frankly simply untrue statements about the conduct of the Portishead Skatepark Project and the planning committee.

Firstly he accuses us of being naive in not seeking landlord's consent. We fully understand that if we are to develop a facility on Council owned land then landlord's consent has to be obtained. North Somerset Council have themselves built or allowed others to build at least 8 skateparks on their land so it would be reasonable to assume that landlord's consent would not present an in-principle problem. It is also worth pointing out that most of these were built without the need for a planning application.

We only pursued a planning application for the Lake Grounds site after being informed by a senior officer, who was the lead officer in discussions between us and the Executive Member, that the Executive Member had no objection to us putting in a planning application for this location. We asked the officer about the issue of landlord's consent and he reassured us that if we were successful in getting planning permission then landlord's consent would not present an insurmountable problem.

So we have been in discussions with both officers and the executive member and only decided to spend money on making an application once we had been given leave to do so. It must also be said the landlord's consent is not a pre-condition of planning consent and lack of it or at least the threat that it might not be granted is not a legitimate reason for refusal.

Mr Pasley says that the committee refused the application on the advice of the police. There are two things to say to this: Mr Pasley proposed the motion for refusal at the planning committee citing Policies ECH/1 and ECH/5 that refer to impact on the character and appearance of the area, and GDP/2 which refers to impact on the living conditions in terms of noise and disturbance. None of these policies deal with anti-social behaviour or crime and disorder which are dealt with under policy GDP/3. So in fact the skatepark was not refused on grounds relating to police advice. The police did not object to the skatepark. They raised concerns which were addressed by the skatepark project and two specific measures were agreed with the police. The planning officers report to the planning committee states: Policy GDP/3 of the local plan seeks to ensure that account is taken of the opportunity to reduce crime through the design of new development. On the basis of these measures, the Police Crime Prevention Design Advisor has withdrawn the original objections to the proposal. It is therefore considered that the proposed skate park includes elements to reduce opportunities for crime, in accordance with policy GDP/3 of the North Somerset Replacement Local Plan. So Mr Pasley is not correct when he states that the committee refused the application on the advice of the police.

Mr Pasley says that we are only willing to maintain the facility for a few years. It has been made very clear to us by a number of both District and Town Councillors that we can expect no financial or other assistance from the councils in developing a skatepark at the Lake Grounds, that we will have to own and manage the facility. We are prepared to do this if it the only way to get this facility for Portishead. This is exactly what the outdoor pool supporters have had to do to maintain that facility and we will take the same route of setting up a community trust to own and operate the skatepark.

He finishes by saying that they will continue to look for a more practical site. I am not sure what this means. The Lake Grounds is the best site available, it meets all the criteria for a successful skatepark, there are no legitimate grounds to refuse planning consent, and an overwhelming majority of people who have responded to our consultations and to the planning application support the project. I think "practical" means anywhere but the Lake Grounds. I will let your readers decide who is to blame for the failure of the skatepark to receive planning consent.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Gething

25 Feb 2010

'Don't blame us for skate plan failure'

Mercury interview with David Pasley

The leader of Portishead Town Council has reacted furiously to strong criticism over the refusal to grant planning permission for a skatepark on the Lake Grounds.Letters to the Mercury Mailbag last week accused David Pasley and fellow members of the North Somerset north area planning committee of having complete contempt for the town and disregarding their duty. But Mr Pasley has responded angrily, insisting councillors cannot be held accountable for procedural shortcomings of the applicant. He said that it was "extraordinarily naive" of the Portishead Skatepark Project (PSP) not to have sought permission from the Lake Grounds' owner before submitting the planning application. Mr Pasley said: "It is very regrettable that the skatepark project spent £4,000 but disingenuous to hang the blame on the councillors."

One of the principal reasons that Mr Pasley and the committee refused the application was on the advice of the police, who had warned that the proposed skatepark would exacerbate existing anti-social behaviour problems within the Lake Grounds area. Councillors were also made aware that at least nine other authorities have encountered serious problems with skateparks, many having to close or move to another site at costs of up to £60,000. Others incurred heavy fines for noise and nuisance.

Mr Pasley added: "I have no doubts about the commitment currently shown by the PSP but what happens if that enthusiasm dissipates over time, who is going to manage things then? "A skatepark is a permanent feature on the landscape but those now so dedicated may not always be so and future generations may believe that a facility on council-owned land should be managed by the council. "The PSP are willing to maintain this facility for a limited time in the early years when minimal maintenance or cost outlay can be presumed but after that, the council taxpayers of Portishead will have to pay. "It is undeniable the PSP have worked tirelessly and relentlessly to secure a second skatepark in Portishead. They have consulted, cajoled, courted and negotiated with every stakeholder other than, mystifyingly, the main decision-takers, Portishead's North Somerset councillors.

"As a grandfather of 10, the charge of not caring about the youth of Portishead, could not be further from the truth. "In addition to seeking to provide alternative facilities for the non-skating majority of our youngsters, North Somerset councillors, particularly those representing Portishead, support the concept of a skatepark. "We will continue in the search for a more practical site but it can never be without consideration of other factors."

4 Mar 2010

Letter sent by Cllr Liese Stanley to the press

Skatepark- The Facts

Following North Somerset Councillors voting against the planning application for a skatepark at the Lake Grounds, feelings are running high. I believe it best, at times like these, to look at the facts.

I was asked by Portishead Town Council to be their representative on the Portishead Skatepark Committee (PSP). As such, I have a duty to declare a personal interest when the skatepark is discussed at town council meetings. This I have done.

The police did not object to the skatepark being sited at the Lake Grounds- in their report they raised concerns and then continued to explain that, subject to conditions already agreed, they withdrew any objections previously raised.
It is also important to note that the reasons for refusal do not relate to issues of public safety despite much being made of this by Cllr Pasley. Issues relating to police concerns are dealt with under policy GDP/3 which is not referred to in the notice of refusal.

It is true that other authorities have encountered problems with skateparks sometimes resulting in re-siting or closure. Over the past 3 years PSP Committee has been very aware of these issues. They have spoken with many other councils to learn not only from their success stories but also from problems that they had encountered. It is with all of this information and knowledge, and after discounting 15 other sites for a variety of reasons, that the Lake Grounds was chosen as a potentially successful site.

Landlord’s consent was discussed with officers from North Somerset Council.
Cllr Ap Rees, then Deputy Leader of North Somerset Council, asked an officer to carry out a review of possible skatepark sites and make recommendations back to him. The officer reported back that the most suitable site was on the area already proposed at the Lake Grounds. In an email sent in March of last year Cllr Ap Rees wrote
“Having considered the latest proposal there is no objection to the Project putting in a planning application for the site we discussed. However satisfactory landscaping will be important, as will materials to blend in as much as possible with the area.”
The skatepark committee was reassured by the officer that it was his understanding that Landlord’s Consent would not be an issue. The skatepark committee were also informed by two different North Somerset departments that further discussions could not continue until a planning application had been approved.

Apart from Cllr Jolley, local district councillors did not represent the majority opinion of their wards. 21 people objected to the skatepark via the planning process - 457 people supported the application. The ward breakdown is as follows:
Coast – 20 objections, 62 supporting
Central – 0 objections, 60 supporting
East – 0 objections, 135 supporting
Redcliffe Bay – 0 objections, 56 supporting
South and North Weston – 0 objections, 41 supporting
West – 0 objections 57 supporting
Others (outside of area or no address specified) 1 objection, 46 supporting

There are serious concerns that certain district councillors present at the North Area planning committee did not behave within the requirements of the Code of Conduct when discussing and ultimately objecting to the planning application. These concerns have been reported and are being investigated.

The majority of this information and other relevant facts are available on the Portishead Skatepark Project’s website or on the planning portal of North Somerset Council.

Cllr Liese Stanley
Portishead and North Weston Town Council

26 Feb 2010

Project reply to last weeks letters re Portishead Skatepark

To the editor:

I feel I need to respond to some of the points raised by your two correspondents in last weeks paper regarding my previous letter about the refusal of planning permission for the skatepark

In terms of the level of support for the skatepark in the town, three years ago the skatepark project delivered 1000 questionnaires to streets throughout Portishead and canvassed opinion at the Victorian Evening and through the press. This resulted in around 800 responses. To the question "Do you support the development of a new skatepark in Portishead" 95% of respondents said YES.
In terms of location nearly half the respondents preferred a site at Parish Wharf and one third preferred the Lake Grounds. Sites at Bristol Road, Kilkenny Fields, and Village Quarter were preferred by less than 20% of respondents. The Parish Wharf location was rejected early on because of proximity to the nearby high rise buidlings.

In August last year we held a consultation at the proposed site and invited every resident living within sight of the Lake Grounds to attend. Around 250 houses were leafletted. Some 50 people turned up and of these approximately half were in favour and half against. So given the specific opportunity only 25 Lake Grounds residents objected to the proposal.

The planning application gave everyone the opportunity to have their democratic say about the development. Naturally we encouraged users and supporters to make a response. We imagine that objectors to the skatepark would do the same. Overall there were 478 responses. We have analysed these by ward. Coast Ward which includes the Lake Grounds produced 20 letters of objection and 62 of support. All the other wards produced 1 letter of objection and 394 letters of support.

We therefore feel justified in saying that there is overwhelming support for a skatepark at the Lake Grounds.

We have spent a long time looking at other skateparks around the country and establishing the factors that contribute to a successful skatepark. The site at the Lake Grounds is the best site available and meets all the criteria for a successful skatepark. Literally years of negotiations and an exhaustive search for alternative sites finally led to the Executive Member responsible for parks advising the skatepark project that he had no objection to us submitting a planning application on the Lake Grounds site. When we raised the matter of Landlord's Consent with the officer dealing with the negotiation we were told that if planning consent were granted then Landlord's Consent should not present an in-principle problem. Our understanding therefore was that the Executive Member wanted to test public opinion through the planning process and then move on to discussions about the practicalities of building, owning, and managing the facility.

The only other site that we believe meets most of the criteria is Kilkenny Fields but this was rejected as unsuitable by the same Executive Member.

An area at the football club has been cited as a possibility. We held a number of meetings with the chairman of the football club and were at first offered an area in a remote corner of the grounds. We rejected this for many reasons not the least that the users themselves would feel insecure and were unlikely to use it. We proposed using the area close to the clubhouse that had previously been used as a BMX track but were told that the club has uses for it and the members were unhappy about having a skatepark close to the clubhouse.

The other potential sites were rejected for a variety of legitimate reasons including proximity to housing and failure to get agreement with the landholder.

The reason I used the word devious about the councillors (not the officers who have been entirely professional all along) at North Somerset is that they were aware of all these issues yet still used them as their excuse for rejecting the professional opinion of the planning officer.

We are not bad losers. We have invested much effort and no inconsiderable expense in trying to achieve a skatepark that Portishead people can be proud of. We have in good faith entered into negotiations with the council and with the police to arrive at an acceptable design and location that meets the wishes of residents young and old only to be met with an obdurate "over my dead body" response from a few councillors who have failed in their duty either to consider our application on its merits or to represent the views of their constituents.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Gething

24 Feb 2010

Motion trip

Project organised booking of Bristol's Indoor Skatepark, Motion, for the skatepark group who had a great time. Project is still working hard to give the young people of Portishead a healthy outlet for their energies.

5 Feb 2010

BBC Radio Bristol - Drive with Ben Prater Interview with David Pasley (District Councillor) and Tony Mosely (Chair of Skatepark Project)

Ben: To Portishead we go. Plans for a skatepark have been rejected by North Somerset Council. Only one Portishead Councillor supported the project. With me now is Portishead Councillor David Pasley and Tony Mosely chairman of Portishead Skatepark Project. Tony, what were you proposing, what did you want to see happen, what difference would it make and how do you feel now?
Tony: I feel it's disgraceful. The whole object of the skatepark was to try and give something for the young people to keep them occupied and certainly the main use would be on BMX bikes and the Council strategy is to get more people on their bicycles - and having failed to get this planning application in I've now written to the leader of the Council asking him to find a site because certainly we cant find a site that's far enough away from residential house that's not going to cause any disturbance and is central enough for kids to get to .
Ben: Where exactly was this going to be?
Tony: On the Lake Grounds in between the boathouse and the children's play area. The Council has been very good at insisting that developers put up swings and things for young kids and nobody seems to care about teenagers and that seems to be one of the abrogations of their responsibility towards the people in Portishead.
Ben: David, you voted against, do you care about teenagers?
David: Of course. I've got ten grandchildren myself and I care very much about teenagers and I think all my colleagues in North Somerset Council do as well - we're all family people but there has to be some reasonable rules and acceptable positioning of something like a skatepark so that it's not a nuisance and doesn't make a noise disturbance to properties.
Ben: If you look at other countries, places in Australia America that I've been to, fairly central parks right in the middle seem to benefit the area. What's wrong in Portishead?
David: Well, one of the difficulties with skateparks apparently is the fact that they are noisy even though some may use, as this is proposed, silent or quiet concrete, but I've got, for instance, a list of nine Councils throughout the UK who have willingly agreed to skateparks going in on their land and because of noise being recorded a nuisance and anti-social behaviour and all that sort of thing, some Councils have been fined up to eighty thousand pounds and told to remove the skatepark at their own cost - now we don't want to get into that. We want a skatepark but we want it in an area where it's not going to cause offence to neighbouring properties and where it's central and where youngsters, teenagers and even adults if they want to use it can go along and use that great facility.
Ben: If you want something but are aware there's no other place for it - a bit unfair isn't it or have you got your eye on somewhere else?
David: I think there are other places and I know I've had a copy of an email from Mr Mosely and I have also had a reply from the leader of the Council Councllor Ashton who actually says he is supportive of the aspirations of the group and he'd be delighted if a more suitable site could be found. He has told me verbally that he would be quite happy for Officers of the Council to help seek a suitable site if we can find public land - of course there's no reason why it cant be on private land.
Ben: Tony
Tony: We searched for three years - a whole group committee has searched the whole area for a suitable site. We were turned down by Councillors and by Council Officers on every site except for the Lake Grounds. In fact one of the Deputy Leader of the Council suggested that we put in a planning application for the Lake Grounds subject to it having proper landscaping. We've spent thousands of on landscape architect's fees to get this properly designed so that it doesn't interfere. It is quiet it is quieter it is certainly quieter than the children's play area next to it. And all the Councils which Councillor Pasley has mentioned that have had to be fined for bad skateparks have been where they have been too close to housing and that's one of the objectives we set ourselves we are over a hundred metres from the nearest house on the Lake Grounds and there's no other site that I can find in the town and if Councillor Pasley and the Leader of the Council can find another site we would be delighted. But when you consider that a whole group of civic minded people spent three years looking for a site and failed to find one other than this one then I think you will find that the Councillors - it's a pipe dream that they support the young people of the town unless they can find one but certainly I can't.
Ben: David - Final word, forget it's a half pipe, it's a pipe dream - Is that fair?
David: No. I think one of the important things there are two things - one is that the skatepark were applying for planning permission on North Somerset land. Before doing that they should have really got landlord's permission to build a skatepark there. It's pointless in spending money - in fact it's a waste of money applying for planning permission when you don't know whether you've got the landlord's permission to build there. One of things that really was quite surprising was that to quite a few members the fact the police had said quite clearly that in their opinion a skatepark on the Lake Grounds would exacerbate the anti-social behaviour we suffer from on Friday and Saturday nights which is already quite a serious problem. The Council locally of which I'm Chairman has introduced an alcohol ban on the Lake Grounds and in part of the town because the - we do have - I don't want to paint a bad picture of Portishead is a wonderful place to live but we do have anti-social behaviour and when the police are telling us this is going to exacerbate the problem that we are experiencing down there then it's unfair for us to say to pop a skatepark in there to hell with the people who live there. It's just not fair.
Ben: Tony. On the one hand that is what the police are saying while we are trying to be positive for youngsters do the thing.
Tony: On the contrary. Councillor Pasley has a personal interest because he lives by the Lake Grounds and he does suffer from the anti-social behaviour and we have told the police that we are willing to pay up a CCTV camera at our expense rather than the police expense to help. Because that in itself will prevent people from wanting to give anti-social behaviour. And we are also going to join a group committee that's going to look at the anti-social behaviour problem in the town generally so there's been some positive actions as a direct result of our application rather than something that's negative. It's only an opinion of one person in the police who considers it will make the problem worse. We actually believe it will make it less.
Ben: That's all we have time for. It's an interesting debate - what does that say about the state of the country and about how difficult it is to provide young people with something to do. If you live in Portishead if you live around the Lake Grounds . If you know anywhere in the vicinity where it would go get in touch text 786200955

8 Feb 2010

North Somerset Times - Letter from Committee member Jon Gething on the Planning Committee:

I was present at the planning committee last Thursday when the skatepark planning application was refused and I was appalled at the conduct of the majority of the councillors. They treated the planning process, the considered views of the planning officers, the decision of the town council, and the very considerable efforts of the Portishead Skatepark Project with complete contempt.

It was clear from the conduct of the majority of councillors at the meeting that they disregarded their duty to consider the application on its merits and arrive at a fair and considered judgement of the quality of the application in reference to planning guidance and council policies.

Reference to the fact that the skatepark did not yet have landlord's consent from North Somerset Council as the landowner of the Lake Grounds was irrelevant to the application and was particularly devious as officers of the council have been expressly forbidden to discuss any aspects of the skatepark's siting, construction or maintenance with the project until the planning application has been approved.

Reference to alternative sites was also irrelevant as the application has to be determined in light of the chosen location. Again this was also devious as the councillors, especially those from Portishead, knew very well that an exhaustive process over three years had revealed only two suitable sites that were potentially available to the project. The other site at Kilkenny Fields was turned down by the executive member responsible at the time who encouraged the project to find a suitable site at the Lake Grounds and gave the project leave to submit the application for the chosen site.

The skatepark project has spent £4,000 on employing a landscape architect experienced in skatepark design and construction to draw up a design that would be appropriate to the location adjoining the esplanade, would be as quiet as possible, blend in with the contours of the area, and be attractively landscaped to meet the very high standards demanded for such a prominent location. None of this money has come from public funds and has been raised through bag packing, raffles, sponsored events, and other local fund-raising initiatives, much of it through the efforts of the young people of Portishead.

A professional report was submitted to the planning department and this was followed by considerable discussion and negotiation particularly with the police to arrive at an application that fully met all the council policies and planning criteria and was supported by the local community policing team.

All this hard work by a small group of community minded people and large group of young skaters and bladers was completely ignored by most of the councillors on Thursday.

Those councillors that voted to refuse this application displayed a complete disregard for the planning process and a disregard for the wishes and needs of the young people of Portishead and their many parents and supporters. They apparently give far more weight to the 18 people who objected to the application than to the more than 400 people who sent messages of support.

I am still mystified why our sister towns of Clevedon and Nailsea can have similar sized skateparks in their main parks and in Clevedon's case in a similar location close to the seafront yet the Lake Grounds is completely unacceptable. It is particularly sad that a few councillors are prepared to use the power conferred on them by the electorate to thwart the wishes of an overwhelming majority of Portishead residents and deny the young people of this town a much needed facility.

16 Feb 2010

Formal decision notice

(full document available on North Somerset Council Planning site)

4 Feb 2010

Skatepark fury at Planning Application Refusal

Skatepark supporters are today assessing the future of the project after the planning application was refused by North Somerset Council. Only one Portishead Councillor supported the proposal despite it being supported by the Town Council and more than 400 expressions of support being sent in response to the planning application while only 17 objections were sent. The application was recommended for approval by planning officers who said that it met all the Council's planning criteria.

Tony Mosely, the chairman of the Portishead Skatepark Project, said "Several councillors said that it was the wrong location. However they know that we have looked at every possibility in the town and the Lake Grounds ended up being the only site that was available that met all the requirements of a successful skatepark. If councillors are serious about wanting to see facilities for teenagers in the town then we now expect them to come forward with a suitable site that meets the necessary criteria, in other words where the land is available free of charge, in a central accessible location, at least 100m from housing, overlooked by other visitors, and where we have a realistic prospect of getting planning permission. If they cannot do this then they are saying to the young people of Portishead that they don't matter."

Tony added, "naturally, if the Council do not find a new site, we will be appealing against this decision and we believe that we will win at appeal because there are no genuine reasons for refusal."

The Portishead area councillors voting against the skatepark were: Nigel Ashton, Felicity Baker, David Pasley, Alan McMurray, Arthur Terry, and Reyna Knight. Councillor David Jolley voted for the skatepark.

Mar 2010

Town Council's report in Portishead Paper

"Skate Park

The main attraction at December's meeting was the submission of a Planning Application to build a Skate Park at the Lake Grounds. An unprecidented number of residents asked to speak during public participation at the beginning of the meeting. Eight spoke on the Skate Park Planning Application and one updated the meeting on Portishead in Bloom. All eight who expressed their views on teh Skate Park were in favour of the Park; however they split into six in favour of the proposed Lake Grounds location with two against.

Following a passionate debate by members of the Town Council, the vote was taken adn by 8 to 5, the Council decided to recommned that the District Council approve the Application, this confirmed the Planning Committee's recommendation of the previous week."

9 Dec 2009

Portishead and North Weston Town Council approve plans

At the full Town Council meeting on 9th December at the Folk Hall the council voted to have no objections to the plans by 8 to 5 votes. Thanks to Paul Maltby, Kenneth Smith, Shelagh Wall speaking for Tina Cant, Tony Mosely and John S Clark for speaking in Public Participation time. Thanks also to the huge number of young people that came along to show support - a very unusual event for these meetings.
We were pleased to hear Inspeactor John Owen speak so positively about the project and to reitterate that we were continuing to discuss the plans with the police to find a solution.

Voting for the skatepark were Cllrs Mason, Hazelton, M Cruse, Wright , R Cruse, Parker, Howells and Stanley (Council representative on Project Committee).

Voting against were Cllrs Pasley, Knight, Miers, Way and Walters.

2 Dec 2009

Town Council Planning Committee approve plans

At the meeting of the Town Council Planning Committee the councillors voted to have no objections to the plans by 6 to 4 votes. Thanks to Paul Maltby, Kenneth Smith, Tony Mosely and John S Clark who spoke in support of the skatepark project.

29 Nov 2009

Police concerns about the plans

You may have read in the press that the Police have some concerns about the plans for a skatepark in the Lake Grounds and the issue of anti-social behaviour by non-skaters and late at night when the skatepark isn't going to be used. We are pleased the planning process has been delayed by a month to enable us to continue our very constructive discussions with the Police and are very hopeful that we can find a solution to enable them to support the application.

6th Nov 2009

Press Release

Portishead Skate Park planning application finally submitted

After several years of meetings, planning and fund-raising by local skateboarders and their supporters, the Portishead Skate Park Project has taken another massive step on the road to success. The long awaited planning application has at last been submitted for a brand new skate park at the Lake Grounds in Portishead.

After lengthy consultation with residents, local councillors and officials from North Somerset council, the proposed skate park will be located close to the promenade near the boathouse and will comprise two concrete bowls and a street area sunk into the ground with a raised bank for seating. The area will also receive extensive landscaping to ensure it blends into its surroundings.

Tony Mosely, chair of the Portishead Skate Park Project, commented;

"We are all very excited that we have at last reached this crucial point. We now have the chance to have a proper debate about the new skate park and to show the very high level of support for this project across the town. We know from all our consultations and the degree of interest shown by young people that this skate park is both needed and welcomed within the town.

We have employed a landscape architect to help us design the new park and we responded to concerns raised at the public consultations about noise and aesthetics. We believe we have arrived at a design which respects the Lake Grounds setting. The planning application is the opportunity to demonstrate this to the North Somerset Councillors.”

Anthony Jones, a local blader, agrees "I think the Lake Grounds is a perfect place for the skate park because it is central, has good facilities such as toilets, a cafe and ample parking. It will sit well alongside the child’s play area. I look forward to riding it."

Details of the planning application with a full Design Statement can be seen at the Public Library in Portishead and on the North Somerset Council website. The application reference is 09/P/1856/F. For further information, interviews or comment on the progress of the Skate Park Project or for further details of the Skate Park please contact Jon Gething (848025), Sarah Souter (842300), or Tony Mosely (845511) or visit our website www.portisheadsk8.org.uk.