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'Flappit bike site will not be replaced'

8:33am Wednesday 8th July 2009 in


Bradford Council is not taking any action to identify alternative sites for off-road motorcycling following its decision to close the lay-by at the Flappit site.

Councillor Anne Hawkes-worth, executive member for the environment and culture, said: “We do not consider it a priority. We must be aware of the current financial problems within the Council and the country and the cycle path is not a priority.”

The Council last month closed the lay-by near Cullingworth to riders, barring access to the former Hallas Rough quarry.

The Council took the decision on health and safety grounds after a 45-year-old quad biker died at the quarry in 2007.

However the lay-by closure has sparked anger among the people who use the site.

Comments(22)

Apollo says...
8:41am Wed 8 Jul 09

And yet the Council will waste millions of our pounds on the mere idea of having a 'park' in the already dead city centre.

You really could not make it up could you?

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Mik_e says...
9:10am Wed 8 Jul 09

If the council didn't pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, to employees who CLAIM to be sick, there might be enough to fund an alternative site. Also the tragic death of one rider, is merely a lame excuse for the closure of the Flappit.

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FCUK THE UK says...
9:31am Wed 8 Jul 09

so lets close everything then as a risk for health and safety. . . . Think the council waste money on supporting melas evey year, refurbing parks in certain areas, closing roads off for parades through town centre. . . etc etc but when the law abiding ppl want to ride there bikes away from built up residential areas the council dont want it!! who runs the council or makes decisions there??? What we will see now is off road bikes been rode around the streets instead so be prepared for the noise!!

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The Main Man says...
9:31am Wed 8 Jul 09

The council hads let the good people of Bradford down yet again.
It will not cost much if they find a site which they could lease then ask the off road people to pay a small fee to ride there. They could also staff it and make it safe and sound then.
Now there no off road site in the Bradford area people and kids will be riding there bikes on the foot paths and the road like in the the early 80s when they was a lot on public land.
I drove past the old flappits a few times and it was always busy.
I going to have to call the two BNP councillors in queensbury to see what they can do and put forward to the council about a off road site and why they say they cant fund it when they can fund all the other pie in the sky ideas they have.
Thanks

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bigjake says...
10:22am Wed 8 Jul 09

Who cares about the flappit being closed. It only served as a meeting ground for chavs and vagrants. Hopefully this will be seen as a clear message that riding motorbikes is not a 'mature' thing to do and that the riders should look for a more intellegent way of passing their time.

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Missyink says...
12:52pm Wed 8 Jul 09

In reply to `bigjake', sorry, myself and my family are neither chavs or vagrants, we are bike lovers and have enjoyed many,many wonderful afternoons on the Flappit over the past 25 years.
It was a tragic accident that the man sadly died , but to take away the enjoyment for the many hundreds of us that pay our taxes without an alternative solution is totally wrong to me. As usuall the government do not listen.

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c/pot says...
4:52pm Wed 8 Jul 09

Would it have been closed down if it had been in areas such as Leeds Road Manningham etc,i think not there would have been a lots of complaints and the ruling over turned.A better idea would have been to make all riders wear crash helmets and safety wear,the council to charge a fee and put an attendant on site at weekends only,keep the site closed during the week and allow the sanrnie van to keep thier trade and drivers to stop and have thier mandatory break,maybe thats too easy.

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Prisoner Cell Block A says...
7:27pm Wed 8 Jul 09

Leave it closed, that way I can enjoy the exhilirating thrill of near death experiences like the one I had this afternoon, a quad bike riding recklessly right past the car park entrance on the footpath just brushed my knee, I'd only nipped out of work for a butty. Imagine my joy at being shocked to death, near body injury and the abuse shouted at me for being so stupid as to walk on the pavement. I may add the driver had no protection for himself, no licence plate, no way of identifying him if he had have injured me and probably not a lot of carer from either the police or the council. These are regular occurences on the streets of Bradford, and maybe the Flappit closure won't make a jot of difference as it usually fools with no care who ride the streets and the more serious and considerate riders at least do it away from residential homes and areas. But as long as the council wsate more money on ensuring this area is 'policed' and the streets remain like Odsal a la the days of speedway then they will have gained a step towards the total destruction of our once fair city. When did we ever see the blueprint for this mass destruction of a previously well respected and hardworking northern city, I must have been racing my pidgeons or summat.

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lonniejockstrap says...
10:33pm Wed 8 Jul 09

How-come the Council haven't closed down all the roads in the BMDC area on 'Health and Safety'grounds?

I don't ride a Bike or a Quad but I believe it is very wrong to stop the enjoyment thousands of people must have had over the years due to one very sad and tradgic accident. But accidents
happen all the particularly when people are at work making profits for rich people and multinational organisations, but do the politicians stop the Money-men from operating?

All you users of the Flappit site should get organised and become more politically involved as a group and fight to get the decision reversed. Then as a group use your vote in this sham democracy of ours to prevent the politicians you are against from 'serving' in the Council.

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tornshaunton says...
10:45pm Wed 8 Jul 09

bigjake wrote:
Who cares about the flappit being closed. It only served as a meeting ground for chavs and vagrants. Hopefully this will be seen as a clear message that riding motorbikes is not a 'mature' thing to do and that the riders should look for a more intellegent way of passing their time.
pi;;ock !!

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Dr Evil says...
1:27am Thu 9 Jul 09

Proof, if it was needed, that Anne Hawksworth has lost her grip on reality. Was she thinking of the current financial situation whem we bought her security cameras for her own personal use?

I may be imagining it but I'm sure there are more unmarked bikes tearing around.

Replacwment of the Flappit would cost the council peanuts.

How can this be denied to us whilst our money is used to refurbish private accomodation (e.g. Girlington Road)?

This counvil has some sort of agenda. Policies appear to be based on spurious grounds. One thing is certain and that is that this Council and its Policies are not thos that we voted for. Much of the Council's work is carried out by unelected commitees and the Councillors so not seem to act in the interests of their proletariat.

A clean sweep is needed - perhaps we can get to look through their expenses and so on; It worked for Parliament (about half of them seem to have resigned). We need a fresh Council next time so we can drawe a line under the mistakes of the last few years and build something on the wasteland that Bradford has become.

I wonder if Anne Hawksworth actually ever steps out of her car in any part of Bradford other than in her own very nice and pretty home-town of Ikley and the Oasis around City Hall...

The argument is that there are lean times throughout the British Isles but there are few places in the UK that have suffered the DEgeneration that Bradford has in the last 10-20 years.

Action is needed and I think the only catalyst would be an injection of new blood in City Hall.

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Dr Evil says...
1:35am Thu 9 Jul 09

P.S. Love to know how Bigjake spends HIS spare time - Dominoes. Bridge, Gin Rummy... Actually, probably Solitaire!

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bigjake says...
8:06am Thu 9 Jul 09

Dr Evil wrote:
P.S. Love to know how Bigjake spends HIS spare time - Dominoes. Bridge, Gin Rummy... Actually, probably Solitaire!
With hobbies and interests that require a degree of intelligence, with family and friends, of course. Not riding Pikey Machines around a dirt track. My view is based on similar experiences to Prisoner CBH. Off road biking/quads = chav.

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tornshaunton says...
10:06am Thu 9 Jul 09

bigjake wrote:
Dr Evil wrote: P.S. Love to know how Bigjake spends HIS spare time - Dominoes. Bridge, Gin Rummy... Actually, probably Solitaire!
With hobbies and interests that require a degree of intelligence, with family and friends, of course. Not riding Pikey Machines around a dirt track. My view is based on similar experiences to Prisoner CBH. Off road biking/quads = chav.
you have friends ?????

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NOTSOCOMMENSENSE says...
10:44am Thu 9 Jul 09

NOTE TO BRADFORD COUNCIL JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAPPEND AT THE LAST EURO ELECTION TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES THINK THEY CAN RIDE ROUGHSHOD OVER THE MAJORITY OF THE ELECTORATES FEELINGS,SOONER OR LATER BE IT ON YOUR OWN HEADS.PS I THINK MRS HAWKSWORTH MAY HAVE A SUPRISE AT THE NEXT ELECTION

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SLATE MINER says...
2:13pm Thu 9 Jul 09

Having read the above posts I can only agree with bigjake. This closure has been a long time coming and is welcomed by as many as those who do not welcome it.

ps notsocommeensense the caps lock key is the third one up on the left hand side of your key board. Do press it dear to see if it works Lol

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Missyink says...
7:26pm Thu 9 Jul 09

All you who do not know what biking is.. have not lived!, it is a passion and a thrill, NO we are not imbiciles, we are mature... professionals individuals whom love life, have the wisdom and enthusiasm to embrace it to the full xx,

Never knock it until you have tried.. you never know!!

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Dr Evil says...
2:17am Fri 10 Jul 09

bigjake wrote:
Dr Evil wrote: P.S. Love to know how Bigjake spends HIS spare time - Dominoes. Bridge, Gin Rummy... Actually, probably Solitaire!
With hobbies and interests that require a degree of intelligence, with family and friends, of course. Not riding Pikey Machines around a dirt track. My view is based on similar experiences to Prisoner CBH. Off road biking/quads = chav.
I don'y ride bikes or use the site (I went a couple of times when I was a teenager. I do however respect the right of the Bikers to have a site to do so AND, perhaps more importantly, the right of evryone else having to put up with these bikes being ridden through their neighourhoods.

P.S. Is their some weird Irony Thing going on with your name lacking a Capital BJ?

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DrStupid says...
11:04pm Thu 30 Jul 09

In the past I would have been on the side of the poor bikers.
That is until I nearly hit some moron on a "trials bike" on the "road" and more recently when some dip stick decided to try and get over Bradfords "Environmentally" frieldy barricades and on a quad rolling back into the path of my vehicle.

Bradford Council has done a good thing closing this site due to the hazard posed to road users by the morons using it!

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DrStupid says...
11:06pm Thu 30 Jul 09

c/pot wrote:
Would it have been closed down if it had been in areas such as Leeds Road Manningham etc,i think not there would have been a lots of complaints and the ruling over turned.A better idea would have been to make all riders wear crash helmets and safety wear,the council to charge a fee and put an attendant on site at weekends only,keep the site closed during the week and allow the sanrnie van to keep thier trade and drivers to stop and have thier mandatory break,maybe thats too easy.
That may well be the same prune who tried to get over the barricade and failed rolling into the middle of the road forcing me to do a near emergency stop.

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conorw1995 says...
2:26pm Sun 2 Aug 09

I have been riding at the Flappits for over 36 years. If the council put as much effort and money in to keeping it open there would not be bikers riding around the streets endangering the public.
Phil W

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DrStupid says...
3:31pm Tue 4 Aug 09

conorw1995 wrote:
I have been riding at the Flappits for over 36 years. If the council put as much effort and money in to keeping it open there would not be bikers riding around the streets endangering the public.
Phil W
Oh this was before the closure, and why should our taxes be given to such louts whose incompitence caused its closure in the first place????

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