PAPER D1
Purpose: For Decision
Committee: EXECUTIVE
Date: 23
APRIL 2002
Title: ST
HELENS VILLAGE GREEN - SKATEBOARDING
PORTFOLIO HOLDER – RESOURCES
SUMMARY/PURPOSE
To consider proposals to establish
a skateboarding area in the car park of St. Helens Village Green.
BACKGROUND
The portfolio holder has been approached by the St. Helens Village Greens Society and the St. Helens Youth Project for support from the Council for a permanent skateboard area in the car park at St. Helens Village Green. The Society say they were formed in June 1998 with two aims – to maintain the rights of present and future generations to use the village green for legitimate sports and pastimes without hindrance and to support the Village Youth Project in their request for a skateboard area on the village green. They say they have been well supported in the village and have raised over £2,500.00 for the skateboard project. They are very concerned about the dangers involved in using streets for skateboarding. The Youth Project say that they have been trying for over five years to get a site for safe skateboarding in the village. During the Easter holiday in 2001 a successful trial period was undertaken in the car park and they are now asking for help to establish a permanent site on a designated part of the car park. They say that this will not adversely affect parking in the village as the car park itself is seldom more than half full most of the time.
In September this year the St.
Helens Parish Council considered a proposal that skateboarding be allowed on
part of the car park for a period of twelve months in the form of an extended
trial. The Parish Council resolved not
to accept the proposal and decided that properly supervised facilities on the
primary school site were the best solution.
The School has been consulted and the response is reported below.
This Council is the owner of the
Green. In 1999 the Council made an
application to the Secretary of State for permission to construct a hard
surfaced sports area including a basket ball tower and skateboard ramps on part
of the Green. Following a public
inquiry, consent was refused. The
Secretary of State accepted that there was a need for additional recreational
facilities in the village and that the proposals would not be damaging to the
interests of nearby residents or to other users of the Green. However, he noted that the information
provided concerning the extent and nature of additional works necessary to
provide the level hard surfaced area lacked certainty. He also found that no firm evidence had been
produced about the nature, design, number and type of equipment to be
used. He considered that this
constituted a serious lack of detail and prevented a proper assessment being
made of the proposal. It was for these
reasons that consent was withheld.
OUTCOME OF CONSULTATIONS
As indicated above, the temporary
use of part of the car park for skateboarding was successfully implemented last
year. There is, however, considerable
public opposition to the continuation of the skateboarding use and the Parish
Council has rejected it. A copy of the Parish Council letter is attached.
The Portfolio holder has now
received a petition from the village in support of the project.
The Strategic Director of Education
and the school have been consulted on the idea that the facility should be in
the school grounds. They do not support this idea as the school site is
secluded and enclosed, and not suitable for children to use unsupervised.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The skateboarding facility would
be provided at the expense of the organisers. If option 3 below is pursued the application and the probable
public inquiry would be an expense to the Council, estimated at £5,000.00.
LEGAL ADVICE
The use of the Green is regulated
by a scheme made in 1906 under the Commons Act 1899. This places restrictions upon the Council’s powers. The Council may set apart a portion of the
Green for skateboarding, but there are two important limitations. The first is that the area can only be
enclosed temporarily with an open fence.
The second is that no buildings or structures can be erected. Consent was given to the skateboarding use
earlier this year on the basis that it was temporary and that the ramps were
not structures, since they were brought to the site on a vehicle and simply
rested on the ground. Advice has been
given that it would be possible to grant a series of temporary licences of this
kind, provided the equipment and the fencing were removed at the end of each
licence period. The licensee would be
expected to pay for public liability insurance. On this basis a proposal for,
say, the duration of each school holiday period could be supported.
A more permanent facility can be
authorised by the Secretary of State under s.194 of the Law of Property Act
1925. It was under this section that
the application was made in 1999.
Having regard to the reasons given by the Secretary of State for the refusal
of this application (see above), it is apparent that a skateboarding proposal
that was suitably designed and supported by adequate detail could reasonably be
expected to be approved if a new application were made. The arguments remain
however finely balanced.
OPTIONS
1.
Take no further action.
2.
Renew the temporary licence for 12 months.
3.
Bring forward proposals for a permanent facility, which
would be the subject of a further application to the Secretary of State.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Option 2 and to consider Option 3
if the licence proves successful.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
·
‘Scheme for the Government and Management of St. Helens
Green’ dated 29 September 1906
·
Law of Property Act
1925: s.194. ‘Proposed works of St.
Helens Green, St. Helens, Isle of Wight’ – decision of Secretary of State 4 May
2000.
·
Letter from Clerk to St. Helens Parish Council 12 September
2001.
·
Letter from St. Helens Village Greens Society 11 October
2001.
·
Letter from St. Helens Youth Project 14 October 2001.
·
Letter from Clerk to St. Helens Parish Council 27 January
2002.
Contact Point: Peter Pilgrem, Legal Services Manager Tel:
823207
|
M J A
Fisher Strategic
Director Corporate
and Environment |
R R
Barry Portfolio
Holder - Resources |
ST HELENS PARISH COUNCIL
Clerk to the Council : G
Colyer
6 Cherrytree Road
Seaview
Isle of Wight
PO34 5JF
Michael J A Fisher LLB
Strategic Director
Corporate & Environment
Services
Isle of Wight Council
County Hall
Newport
Isle of Wight PO30 1UD
Dear Mr Fisher
ST HELENS GREEN:
SKATEBOARDING
I am instructed by the
Chairman of the Parish Council to respond to the report prepared for the
Executive concerning the above subject.
The Parish Council clearly
rejected by a unanimous decision of the Councillors present at the vote (there
was only one absentee), the proposal to use part of the St Helens Green Car
Park for Skateboarding for twelve months. Despite this unanimity, your Council
is regrettably continuing to pursue the matter and indeed make an officers
recommendation that either the temporary licence be renewed or bring forward
proposals for a permanent facility. The case for a Skateboard area on St Helens
Green has not been proven and most certainly there is no projection of
potential usage to justify the application on a permanent basis, even for
twelve months.
My Chairman wishes it to be
known that a vote in favour of permanent facilities will be strongly resisted
by the Parish Council. We have been through the Public Inquiry process once and
it is considered that a repeat of the same arguments will be counter productive
and cause further discord in the village. Such an Inquiry cannot be justified
on cost grounds alone at this time of financial restraint and budget deficits.
The comment in the report that it is apparent a skateboarding proposal that was
suitably designed and supported by adequate detail could reasonably approved,
is highly questionable.
Similarly a vote to issue a
temporary license for a twelve months period will be resisted. The Parish
Council has stated that it will support, subject to consultation and
satisfactory conditions similar to those applied during the trial, a small
portion, not half, of fee Car Park being used temporarily for skateboarding
during school holidays. This will involve supervision and temporary facilities,
which must be removed when other events being held on the Green require use of
the Car Park. Parking provision in and around the Green is at a premium and
reduced space in the car park will exacerbate an already difficult situation.
St Helens Green Car Park
itself, is deemed by some members of the Parish Council to be illegal in that
the approval of the Secretary of State DETR was not obtained by the former
Medina Borough Council for its construction. The Car Park is well used and for
St Helens Village Greens Society to claim that is half empty is contrary to
fact.
Continued
overleaf......