‘Unfair to close skatepark’
The closure of the skateboarding area in Victoria Park is unfair to teenagers, a Bath man has said.
Mark Burton, 51, drove past the spot and spotted a coronavirus safety officer on patrol in the skatepark, while the playground opposite was full of families.
He said: “Well basically it was a really nice sunny day and I drove past the park and noticed it was really full, and I thought ‘oh blimey, we’re in lockdown.’
“Then I saw there was a Covid officer there at the skatepark bit, and I wanted to get a photo of him in that bit with no people, and the whole park beside him full.
“I actually had trouble parking because there were so many cars everywhere.”
Mark said he “felt sorry” for teenagers in Bath, as now they had “nowhere to go”.
“I think it’s so unfair that teenagers are getting victimised. They have had a really rough time, they can’t see their friends or go to school and now they can’t skate in the park,” he said.
The local man said he had seen lots of “little kids, mums and dads and grannies and grandpas” in the play park, but that the city’s young people had been left out.
He said: “It’s that awkward age, I remember when I was that age. You are too old to go to the play park and too young to go to the pub.
“And skateboarding is seen as a subversive activity but it’s just outdoor exercise really. What else are they supposed to do - sit in a dark room on their Playstation?”
He “didn’t envy” Bath and North East Somerset Council and said it must be really difficult to police the lockdown rules.
In response to Mr Burton’s observation, Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for community services, said: “The lockdown rule to stop the spread of Covid is still in place and government guidance is very clear that people should still remain at home wherever possible and only go out for essential exercise.”
He added: “In line with the national guidance our play parks remain open. We based our decision to close the skatepark on the advice of the governing body for UK skateboarding, Skateboard GB.
“The skatepark in Victoria Park is a confined space which tends to attract large crowds and can be difficult to enforce social distancing.
“However, we will review the closure in line with government advice when the lockdown rule changes from March 29”.