IT'S a great New Year message for skateboarders in Ilkley that they may have their own site by Easter (or not long after). But the news is not so good for youngsters in Addingham who are champing at the bit for their own facility.

Despite the long-running campaign for a village skate park, nothing concrete seems to have been achieved so far. The issue seems to have been batted around the table at parish council meetings for such a long time that the teenagers who first promoted the campaign will be in danger of trading in their skateboards for walking frames and stair lifts by the time its gets built.

It seems unbelievable after all this time that questions are still being raised about which village site would be most suitable. That decision should have been made months ago.

There are advantages and drawbacks for any site chosen and there is also a downside to having a skate park in the village, such as whether it will prove to be a magnet for anti-social outside elements. But these misgivings must not prevent the youngsters of the village from being provided with an attractive amenity and should not stop the park from being built if the political will exists to get things moving more swiftly.

Changes being introduced by both central and local government will ensure that the parish councils in Addingham and elsewhere will have to take on much more responsibility for local services and amenity provision in the not too distant future.

It would be a major feather in the cap for the parish council in Addingham to create a brand new skate park using its own expertise and financial acumen, simply to show that it is capable of much more than the bread and butter business of complaining about blocked drains and overgrown road signs.