Wrong way to carry on

It strengthens the belief among many young people that their voices can be ignored because they do not have a vote; it demonstrates a disregard for the wider views of the community; and it suggests that the new city leaders have already forgotten that council coffers contain our money, not theirs.

Clearly there have been problems at the Sidings Skate Park. Only three weeks after it opened we reported complaints from residents that it was attracting abusive teenagers. Seats and plants were damaged, and the vandals have since removed a bolt from the skate ramp, a worrying development.

This is not a tolerable situation. No one would disagree with Coun Bill Fairclough's assertion that children's safety should be the first priority. A short-term closure of the park, while solutions were sought, might have been acceptable.

However, reducing the facility to rubble was not the answer. Imagine if this policy had been adopted earlier. When drunks were causing problems in Museum Gardens, would the council have sent in the bulldozers? After skateboarding youths damaged the Millennium Bridge, would they have sunk it to the bottom of the Ouse?

Councillors seem to believe the skate park to be the problem. It is not. The abusive youngsters and the vandals are the problem. Shutting the park penalises the law-abiding children who use it and merely sends the troublemakers off to another area.

Efforts had been made with the police and youth service to tackle the anti-social behaviour. That work has now been wasted, along with thousands of pounds of public money.

Meanwhile, the lack of discussion over terminating the skate park - even the housing estate's managers were not told - contrasts starkly with the lengthy consultation process before it opened.

We can only hope this odd decision is not representative of the city council's general approach to governance.

Updated: 11:40 Thursday, July 24, 2003