COUNCIL
11 JULY 2012
AMENDMENTS
Item 5 b (ii) – Skate Parks and Facilities for Young People
Amendment from Councillor Bint:
“ 1. That paragraph (a) be amended to read ‘notes that providing
and maintaining high quality play facilities within 300-600m of all
homes forms a fundamental part of MK Council's policies;’
2. That paragraph (b) be amended to read ‘notes that HCA has
constructed, and MKP gave planning permission for, the
Broughton Skate Park, and that the Council's Environmental
Health Officers have determined that the Skate Park, in its current
form, constitutes a Statutory Nuisance;’
3. That paragraph (c) be amended to read ‘ recognises how
popular and well-used the Skate Park has become, attracting
users from across MK and many miles beyond, recognises the
comparatively smaller number of people suffering from the worst
levels of statutory nuisance noise from the Skate Park, and
recognises that many more houses in close proximity to the Skate
Park are currently being built;’
4 That paragraph (d) be amended to read ‘notes that the Chief
Executive and other relevant officers, at the request of Members,
are currently undertaking a review of the Council's play/leisure
strategy, after which a review of the relevant planning policies can
take place;’
5. That paragraph (f) be amended to read ‘welcomes the
extensive efforts by Council officers, the Parks Trust, Parish and
Ward Councillors, local residents, Skate Park users and others, to
resolve the noise nuisance without needing to close the facility,
and hopes that those efforts are successful;’
6. That paragraph (g) be amended to read, ‘recognises the
Council's goal of providing a suitable range of play and leisure
facilities including skate park facilities, together with suitable
ancillary facilities, at appropriate locations for all MK's residents
and visitors, and urges the Administration to bring forward suitable
recommendations in the light of the revised play/leisure strategy,
and;’
7. That paragraph (h) be amended to read ‘requests the Cabinet, if
any future decision is taken to close the Broughton Skate Park
despite the hard work to keep it open, to conduct a review of
alternative locations and funding options for a replacement skate
park, working with landowners as necessary, preferably within 3
months of the closure of the current facility.’
The amended motion would read:
That this Council:
(a) notes that providing and maintaining high quality play
facilities within 300-600m of all homes forms a
fundamental part of MK Council's policies;
(b) notes that HCA has constructed, and MKP gave planning
permission for, the Broughton Skate Park, and that the
Council's Environmental Health Officers have determined
that the Skate Park, in its current form, constitutes a
Statutory Nuisance;
(c) recognises how popular and well-used the Skate Park
has become, attracting users from across MK and many
miles beyond, recognises the comparatively smaller
number of people suffering from the worst levels of
statutory nuisance noise from the Skate Park, and
recognises that many more houses in close proximity to
the Skate Park are currently being built;
(d) notes that the Chief Executive and other relevant officers,
at the request of Members, are currently undertaking a
review of the Council's play/leisure strategy, after which a
review of the relevant planning policies can take place;
(e) urges immediate talks with Places for People and Crest
Nicholson about their plans in Brooklands and Oakgrove
respectively;
(f) welcomes the extensive efforts by Council officers, the
Parks Trust, Parish and Ward Councillors, local residents,
Skate Park users and others, to resolve the noise
nuisance without needing to close the facility, and hopes
that those efforts are successful;
(g) recognises the Council's goal of providing a suitable
range of play and leisure facilities including skate park
facilities, together with suitable ancillary facilities, at
appropriate locations for all MK's residents and visitors,
and urges the Administration to bring forward suitable
recommendations in the light of the revised play/leisure
strategy; and
(h) requests the Cabinet, if any future decision is taken to
close the Broughton Skate Park despite the hard work to
keep it open, to conduct a review of alternative locations
and funding options for a replacement skate park, working
with landowners as necessary, preferably within 3 months
of the closure of the current facility.”
Amendment from Councillor Ferrans:
“1. That paragraph (b) be amended to read ‘regrets that the
Administration only changed its instruction to the Parks
Trust to remove the Broughton Skate Park after sustained
public pressure, including from young people and the
Parish Council, and the reputational damage suffered as a
result of this error of judgement;’
2. That paragraph (d) be amended to read: ‘notes the slow
progress of the recommendation of the Development
Control Committee on 17 September 2011 to investigate
the issue of play provision across Milton Keynes, and the
continued failure by the Administration to ensure crossdepartmental
co-ordination across the Council;’
3. That paragraph (e) be amended to read: ‘calls on the
Cabinet to ensure that sufficient resources, including
funding, are provided to ensure that the review of planning
and play policies, to ensure adequate separation of
facilities from housing, can be carried out and proposals
developed by 31 August 2012;’
4. That paragraph (f) be amended to read ‘urges immediate
talks with Places for People and Crest Nicholson, to
include immediate and adjacent parish councils, about
their plans in Brooklands and Oakgrove respectively; and’
5. That paragraphs (g) and (h) be amended to read ‘(g)
declares that, in the event of failure to provide adequate
noise reduction, the Council has a duty to provide a
replacement park at a more suitable location well away
from residents but convenient for young people, and
requests the Cabinet to conduct a review of alternative
locations and funding options for a skate park, working
with landowners as required, to report back no later than 3
months after the conclusion that problems remain and
cannot be mitigated at the existing site’.”
The amended Motion would read:
"That this Council:
(a) believes that providing and maintaining high quality
facilities for young people should be a Council priority;
(b) regrets that the Administration only changed its
instruction to the Parks Trust to remove the Broughton
Skate Park after sustained public pressure, including
from young people and the Parish Council, and the
reputational damage suffered as a result of this error of
judgement;
(c) recognises how popular and well-used the Skate Park
has been, the comparatively small number of complaints
on noise grounds, and the lack of facilities for teenagers
available in the area;
(d) notes the slow progress of the recommendation of the
Development Control Committee on 17 September 2011
to investigate the issue of play provision across Milton
Keynes, and the continued failure by the Administration
to ensure cross-departmental co-ordination across the
Council;
(e) calls on the Cabinet to ensure that sufficient resources,
including funding, are provided to ensure that the review
of planning and play policies, to ensure adequate
separation of facilities from housing, can be carried out
and proposals developed by 31 August 2012;
(f) urges immediate talks with Places for People and Crest
Nicholson, to include immediate and adjacent parish
councils, about their plans in Brooklands and Oakgrove
respectively; and
(g) declares that, in the event of failure to provide adequate
noise reduction, the Council has a duty to provide a
replacement park at a more suitable location well away
from residents but convenient for young people, and
requests the Cabinet to conduct a review of alternative
locations and funding options for a skate park, working
with landowners as required, to report back no later than
3 months after the conclusion that problems remain and
cannot be mitigated at the existing site.”