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Open up skatepark
• AFTER years of campaigning and fundraising, Cantelowes Garden skatepark opened in the summer of 2007 and immediately became one of the premium facilities in London for skateboarding, rollerblading and BMX riding.
Owing to resident complaints about noise, the early opening time was soon shifted to 11am, preventing use of the skatepark before starting work or school – and taking a large chunk out of the day for participants keen to make the most of their free time!
Jon Sheldon’s letter (Take a look at the skatepark’s opening hours, December 6) highlighted the ridiculous opening hours – 11am and going into winter the skatepark is closing at dusk (currently 4pm).
This gives only five hours of access per day, during what is work time for many of the older participants, and school or college time for younger participants. The skatepark now stands empty during the week and only gets proper use at the weekends, resulting in overcrowding
It seems no thought was given to operating the park during the winter, with the not-unreasonable addition of floodlighting to allow evening sessions for participants who work or attend school during the day
During the autumn evenings the skatepark was only allowed to stay open while the football pitch was being used, with its floodlighting spilling over into the skatepark – on days when the pitch was not hired, the skatepark closed at dusk.
This started giving the skatepark a reputation for being unreliable in terms of access, with skaters travelling to use the facility to find it closed some evenings, and open on others – frustrating for those who have travelled across London, and frustrating for locals who desperately want to use their facility
I call on the authorities that operate the skatepark to look carefully at the opening hours to maximise access during the weekdays and weekends, and in the longer term to look at floodlighting so extreme sports participants can enjoy the same hours of access as provided to the footballers.
ROB COLE
Royal College Street, NW1
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