Fears over plan for indoor skatepark in Clitheroe (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Fears over plan for indoor skatepark in Clitheroe

8:50am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News By Jessica Cree, Education reporter

PLANS to use a community hall as an indoor skate park in Clitheroe have raised concerns among users.

Moveable three-metre high ramps, which can be stored away, will be set up at the St Mary’s Centre, in Church Street, which has recently been taken over by the Lancaster Foundation.

The facilities will be available several nights a week and activities will be supervised by 35-year-old Jud Heald, who is working with youngsters at The Grand skatepark in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle.

The plans have sparked upset from some hall users, who claim the storage of the bulky equipment would mean other users may be forced out.

But Chris Richardson, development director for the Lancaster Foundation, said the idea was to provide somewhere where talented youngsters could continue to develop their skills during the winter months.

He said: “Jud’s exciting vision is to create a skate team with the youth of Clitheroe and potentially tour the UK.

“He has noticed numbers dropping over colder wet winter nights and sees a wonderful opportunity for youngsters to retain basic skills over the period.

“Skateboarding is not an Olympic sport currently, but with its increasing popularity all the signs are it being incorporated in future years which would really put Clitheroe on the map.”

Richard Jackson, chairman of the management committee that has run the hall for the past four years, said: “We as the management committee are very unhappy about the hall being used as a skatepark.

“It is inappropriate to have a skatepark because there is a risk of damage to the room and an implication for the other users.

“It will mean equipment has to be stored there and other users may find they cannot use that hall.”