Youths hit out over lack of progress on new wheel park

A group of around 20 young people told the Herald they were unhappy with the lack of progress, despite being told the wheel park would be up and running by this spring.

Fourteen-year-old Anthony Lancaster said: "We've been waiting nearly two years now and we're still nowhere near to it being finished. We all feel let down."

And 17-year-old James Bracewell added: "It's just a joke. We'd rather ride around on the walls in the town than come here.

"All we've got is a wobbly log and a piece of tin that's supposed to be a fun box and is second hand and that's it."

It was local youngsters who first called for a wheel park when they attended a meeting to consider the future of Victory Park back in 2001.

The youths explained how they were forever being moved on for practising their cycling stunts in the town centre, but pointed out that they had nowhere else to go.

Since then a core group of young people has led the bid to establish the wheel park on the former crazy golf area.

They have raised well over £1,000 themselves through various sponsored activities and giving displays of their bike skills.

They also gave presentations at council and committee meetings in a bid to reel in outside funding.

Thanks to help from parents and councillors, who submitted grant bids under the name Victory Park Wheel Project, they have won pledges of £19,000.

By October last year there was enough money in the pot to start the first phase of the work, which included removing the old surface and crazy golf obstacles and laying a new surface for the wheel park.

This work, which cost in the region of £10,000, has now been completed.

Phase two of the project was to install a variety of equipment on the site.

Approximately half will be a trials track for BMX and stunt bikes, with the rest given over to ramps, pipes, grind rails and other equipment for in-line skates and skateboards.

However, the only equipment erected so far is a second-hand fun box and a large tree log.

Barnoldswick councillor Jenny Purcell called for more progress to be made on the wheel park.

She said: "If something is not done soon these youngsters will start hanging around the town centre again.

"It's only about a fortnight until the clocks go forward and it will be the summer holidays before we know it. What will they do then?

"It's not fair to promise the children that they can have a wheel park and then not deliver. What is the point in starting a project in the first place if you are going to leave it half finished?"

Jackie Taylforth, secretary of the Victory Park Wheel Project, said she sympathised with the youngsters and understood their frustration.

She told the Herald: "I can understand why the lads are so disheartened as this should be all up and running by now, but we've been refused some of the funding that we were banking on and we're now desperately trying to get in all the money we can and are applying for other funding too."

She said there was about £10,000 left in the pot and this would be spent on the trials bike area as soon as possible.

Mrs Taylforth has also organised a meeting to try to organise events and competitions for the youngsters, which would help occupy their time until the work could be completed.

Coun David Whipp, who has also worked hard to get the wheel park up and running, said there were currently funding bids submitted for £38,000.

He added: "I am still enthusiastic that come the better weather we will have a worthwhile facility which will be used by youngsters in Barnoldswick.

"It will be dependent on the answers we get from the bids we've put in whether we have something good or something that's absolutely excellent.

"Someone in their teens wants to see something straight away and sadly life is not like that."

Coun Purcell suggested the wheel park could be completed as a community effort with local people and businesses donating time, materials and manpower to the project.