Paxcroft Mead Community Centre was buzzing with information and earnest discussion last Saturday 9th April at the Community Forum Coffee Morning. The event was very well attended, with plenty of local residents coming to view the first detailed planning applications for the large housing development south of Green Lane.

The burning issue of the day, however, was the Forum proposal to build a BMX/Skate Park on the cricket field behind the Community Centre. An eager group of local kids and young people attended the event, and showed their enthusiasm for the project by signing the petition in favour and immediately scooting off around the estate to collect further names and addresses on mini-petitions of their own. On their return, they were able to discuss their own ideas for the park with a rep from a specialist firm.

Most of the residents who have contacted us about this idea have been warmly in favour and this support was reinforced by the majority of the residents who attended the coffee morning, many of them local parents. A small minority of residents oppose the project on the grounds that a BMX/skate park would increase anti-social behaviour on Paxcroft Mead and one or two of them also came to the coffee morning. The Forum committee take these concerns seriously and local Neighbourhood Police Team Beat Manager, Mark Hough, was on hand to discuss the issue. He stated that local crime statistics show no evidence that similar facilities in the Trowbridge area have led to an increase in anti-social behaviour.

We have done our own research and will be following the advice of specialist firms and council youth officers who advocate involving the kids themselves from an early stage. This way they feel pride in the park and want to keep it in good order.

It will not be easy to deliver the BMX/Skate Park. Even supposing that we are able to get planning permission, there will be tens of thousands of pounds to be raised. We are, nevertheless, determined to do our very best, because we are confident that this is a worthwhile project which will be of real benefit to the community of Paxcroft Mead.