Pupils bid for skate park

SCHOOLCHILDREN in Lawrence have written a letter asking the community to support a project to build a skate park for local children.

In a public letter published online, 10 Lawrence Area School pupils asked the community to help form a ‘‘strong committee’’ to create a proposal for a skate park, and to submit it to the Lawrence Tuapeka Community Board.

‘‘So far, we have been taken seriously but everyone has said that our next move is to form a committee of hardworking, supportive parents [and] community members. That’s where you come in,’’ the letter read.

The pupils said there was nowhere for people to skate or ride scooters in Lawrence except on footpaths, which was ‘‘dangerous for everybody’’.

‘‘A skate park would be a safe and visible area for little kids and it would get scooters and skateboards off the streets.’’

The group of pupils had already met Kaitangata skate park development group chairman Dallas Storer, who helped explain the process and approximate costings of building a skate park.

The group had also sent a letter to the Clutha District Council and the community board.

A meeting will be held at the school library next Tuesday at which Mr Storer will appear to discuss the process he and the Kaitangata group followed for its skate park.

The pupils stated it would be a great opportunity to get an idea of how much community support there was for a skate park.

‘‘We are going to need lots of support but we are confident that we can do this.’’

Lawrence Tuapeka Community Board chairman Garry McCorkindale told the Otago Daily Times he had received the letter written to the board and provided information to the pupils on what information they would need in a proposal. He congratulated them on taking the initiative with their letter.

‘‘They’ve got to build some support now and see where it takes them.’’

Whether anything came out of it would depend on the strength of community support, he said.

The pupils who wrote the letter are Blake Macdonald, Flynt Longley, Fredrick Houpapa, Jacob Deal, Max McTavish, Kurt Rhodes, Jenaya Thompson, Lanie Bell, Hannah Murray and Kaitlin O’Neill.

samuel.white@odt.co.nz