Participation in Practice: Young skaters triumphant in bid to build improved park

The young skaters led a two-year campaign to secure funding and planning permission for the facility in King George’s Playing Fields, which was completed last year.

Officers from Rayleigh Town Council approached young users of an old skate park with concerns over the significant health and safety risks that the worn down park posed. Following these discussions 23 young people aged 13 to 19 decided to form the Rayleigh Skate Council.

With the help of detached youth workers the group was able to attend council meetings, raise money and consult with users of the old skate park and finally to see the opening of their new park in April last year.

Jennie Vickers, team leader of the detached youth worker team in Rayleigh, says the process helped the young people gain valuable skills, including negotiating and public speaking.

"Applying for funding helped them understand budget restrictions and the waiting game," she says. "The youth workers were able to help the group with how to present themselves in a positive way, public speaking and understanding planning laws."

After attending council meetings and applying for funding, the group managed to secure £80,000 from the council’s youth opportunity fund. The remainder of the money needed was raised through fundraising events including a cake stall and a litter pick up and car wash event and a further injection of £11,000 from the Community Initiatives Fund.

One of the young council members, 15-year-old Tom Davies, says the process "definitely helped us get closer with the community".

Local opposition

However, not everyone was enthusiastic about a skate park opening in their area. Opposition from local residents worried about the noise and the excessive use of the skate park by young people from outside of the area threatened the final approval of the site. Despite this, the skate park got the green light following presentations from the young people who used the skills they had developed to win over the planning committee.

Elliott Beeson, who was also involved in the project, says: "You’d be surprised how much you have to go through to get something like his approved, or even discussed."

Since the park has been opened the Rayleigh Skate Council has continued to work together and support children and young people who visit.

Some of the users of the new state park are as young as six and Vickers says the council has been "brilliant" in helping and mentoring them. "They encourage the younger ones’ patience and are caring if they fall or become frustrated," she says.

The young people have also received awards for their persistence and dedication, including a V Involved volunteer award and the Youth Project of the Year award from the local council.