Whether you are a skater or not, in Darlington we have all heard about the rivalry between the local skaters and the council. But what exactly going on? A case of miscommunication seems like the main problem, but to get a better understanding, I joined the skaters to listen to their views. An event took place outside the town hall (just to make sure the councillors noticed!) on Saturday 7th July; activities included skating, graffiti and break dancing. With the sun finally making an appearance for the first time that week, spirits were high with over 100 young people willing to stand up for what they believed in.

The aim for Saturday's events was to either drop the skating ban of up to £500, or to get better facilities within Darlington for the skaters. Simple really, and yet the council are still intolerant towards young skaters in the town.

After talking to a number of skaters I got the impression that the council simply doesn't listen to them, and to be honest, if they had listened this wouldn't of been a problem to them now! Whilst discussing their suggestions and ideas, they seemed to make a lot of sense, they had been thought about logically. Many including Joe Marshall, a local skater, believed that they should have better facilities within Stanhope Park or on Abbey field, somewhere more central to the town. Location is an important factor when considering more facilities and should have deeper going into it. The existing "skate park" which can be found in South Park basically doesn't get used for a couple of reasons; firstly, the council have placed it under a big tree which creates a problem during autumn when all he leaves fall into the ramps making it unsafe. Secondly the location can create a problem, safety is principal for the skaters, they don't wish to cause trouble, but they can feel victimised and violated in that area of town from others who mock them. Resulting with the council spending money on something unbeneficial to the community. During the planning stages, the skaters were asked questions on what they wanted, but all suggestions were ignored.

So what is the reason why skating has been banned in our town centre? Another local skater Richie believes it to be because of the new renovations within the centre. Placing only a 5mm thick amount of marble in the town, to cut the costs. Now they are concerned about the skaters chipping it, when before there was a lot more solid marble, more suitable for skating. A lot of ideas are currently being thrown around, a particular interesting one is to introduce skater-lanes, similar to cycle lanes!

What seems ridiculous is the £500 fine for actually skating in the town, how the council expect youths to afford that! But what is even more absurd is being fined for simply carrying a skateboard through town! I personally don't understand why the council are being so harsh on young people, perhaps they feel threatened, and probably because of the bad name we have received too often within the media, giving us a bad reputation. But as I was constantly told: 'we are not looking for fights, we simply want to skate. Safety to us and to the public is our main priority!' After asking some members of the public, the reaction was positive towards young skaters, many didn't see them as a danger or a threat, one man stated: 'I would prefer them to have a skate park near town then having them skating near roads where it may be dangerous, they should have more facilities, it is obviously a popular activity.' With numerous youths also mentioning the councils plans of the 'local-motion' encouraging young people to take part in more physical activities, but then banning skating in the town, it doesn't make sense!

It was a proud day for youths of the North East, standing up for what they strongly believe in but doing it with respect for others and peacefully. Finally portraying skaters as real people, with views and ideas they wish to share with people to benefit the community. It is about time the council listened to younger people. Keep a look out for future events, join in and get your voice heard!

Sian Williams,

Darlington Borough Council replied to this article. Chris McEwan, Darlington Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Services said:

We were delighted that so many skaters turned up to the Sk8 Jam event to talk to us about skateboarding in the town.

I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the points made in the review:

The Youth Service, which is part of the Council, works with Darlington's young skaters to organise events around the town. We do not think there is a rivalry between the Council and skaters - we want to hear your views and work with you. We are not intolerant of skaters; we just want to make sure you have safe places to skate

The Sk8 Jam project was organised by the Youth Service, with the backing of the Council's Chief Executive and Leader, at the Town Hall to attract the maximum number of skaters so we could talk to you about skating issues

We do listen to skaters; The Youth Service speaks to young people when it is planning all its events to make sure they are the sort of things you want to attend.

During the construction of the skate park at South Park, original plans were revised when young people asked for a new design. Where possible your suggestions were taken on board.

We are setting up a Skating Network to make it even easier for young skaters to influence what we do. I am keen to meet this group when it is up and running To get involved e-mail askvibe@darlington.gov.uk

It is good to hear the suggestions about new places for skating facilities, and we will take them on board, and want to hear any other ideas you have. E-mail suggestions to askvibe@darlington.gov.uk

We are glad that young people are as concerned about safety as we are. This is the reason the bye-law, banning skating in the town centre, was introduced. We have to consider everyone's safety, and we think it can be dangerous for you and other residents if you skate in the town centre. The fine is meant to act as a deterrent to stop skating in the town centre but you will not be fined for carrying your skateboard

The Council is committed to Local Motion and getting people to use different forms of transport but I have to stress that our priority is everyone's safety.