Skate project go-ahead

Fiona Howard • Published 23 Jul 2010 09:30 0 Comments

Share this

Councillor Freeman with PC Crawford and Laura Cameron

YOUNGSTERS from Garelochhead and the Peninsula are being offered a chance to visit a top skatepark FREE of charge.

A joint initiative between Garelochhead Police and the Garelochhead and Portincaple Community Trust has allowed a number of tickets for the popular Pulse Nights at the Unit 23 Skatepark in Dumbarton to be bought,

And those tickets will be available to local youngsters to go and develop their skills free of charge. The idea came from community policeman Andy Crawford who had heard about the Pulse Nights which are run in conjunction with West Dunbartonshire Strategic Community Safety Partnership and he negotiated to get permission for the local youngsters to be allowed to join in.

Once that goal was achieved he went looking for an agency who would help by sourcing the funding for the project - and the trust were only too happy to help.

They applied to the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee for £300 of the £640 and put up the remaining £340 themselves.

And on Thursday Laura Cameron, chairman of the Trust, and Councillor George Freeman were delighted to present the tickets to Andy.

Mrs Cameron said: "We were happy to be able to help this is a really good scheme."

And Councillor Freeman said: "This initiative was first raised with me by Constable Andy Crawford who is based in the Strathclyde Police Office at Garelochhead.

"The proposal was that local police officers would issue tickets for entry to the Unit 23 Skatepark at Dumbarton to target young people who may be at risk of being drawn into anti-social behaviour.

"This would allow the youngsters to access the Skatepark facilities and to gain new skills which it is hoped will encourage other youngsters of the benefits of avoiding anti-social behaviour.

"The youngsters will be supported by the local police to pass on their new-found skills to others within the community.

"Following discussions with Garelochhead and Portincaple Community Trust, a grant application was submitted to the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee for a contribution towards the cost of tickets to the skatepark.

"I am delighted that the area committee agreed to support this initiative and awarded £300 towards the cost of the project. The tickets have now been purchased and the police at Garelochhead are now in a position to issue tickets to teenagers within the village.

"This is a clear example of the excellent relationship we have in the community with our local police officers, community representatives and community groups and the partnership working that goes on locally to benefit our community.

"I am delighted to be able to express my sincere thanks to the members of Garelochhead and Portincaple Community Trust and Constable Crawford and his police colleagues for having the foresight to take this initiative forward."

Unit 23 opened six years ago and has become the largest indoor skatepark in the UK.

At 56,000 sq-ft it has ramps spread over three halls that are designed to suit everyone and every skill level, including a massive replica of the legendary little devil bowl, the UK's largest foam pit and a huge outdoor three-and-a-half acre dirt jump / trails area.

Unit 23 has 11,00 members, and rollerbladers, skateboarders, BMX riders and mountain bikers flock to the Dumbarton East warehouse to hone their skills and hang out with their pals. They cater for absolute beginners through to professionals.

The tickets are available to 12 to 18-year-olds and must be collected in person from Garelochhead Police Station.

This article appeared in Helensburgh Advertiser 22 Jul 10

Follow @helensburghadv

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.