By Patrick LowmanA PARISH council that was forced to pull down a £40,000 skate park just a year after it was put up has expressed its anger and frustration at further delays in getting the facility relocated.

By Patrick Lowman

A PARISH council that was forced to pull down a £40,000 skate park just a year after it was put up has expressed its anger and frustration at further delays in getting the facility relocated.

Glemsford Parish Council was left furious in September after Babergh District Council ordered it to remove the skate park from Tower Meadow after complaints from a neighbour about noise.

It demanded answers from Babergh District Council over the action as the authority had been heavily involved in promoting and locating the project.

Glemsford Parish Council also refused to pay for its relocation after ploughing thousands of pounds from village funds into the original scheme.

After further negotiations, the parish council agreed to put another £9,600 towards the relocation on condition Babergh District Council also put forward an equal amount.

Planning officers recommended the district council should grant £9,600 towards relocating the skate park to land owned by a farmer, but members of the authority's strategy committee have now deferred its decision for further investigation and will reconsider the issue in January.

The decision means youngsters in the village will be left without any facilities for at least another three months.

Parish clerk, Sara Turner, said: "We are disgusted by Babergh's actions throughout this whole affair. We have had well-documented problems with vandalism in Glemsford and provided the skate park to give the youngsters something to do.

"Babergh were involved in the original project all the way through, but just a year later says it has to be relocated.

"Once again we have put forward parish funds to try to help the youngsters, only for Babergh to cause further delays by dithering over putting forward some extra cash."

She added: "As far as we are concerned, Babergh should put forward some of the money as it is partly responsible for the problems in the first place.

"Now youngsters in the village will have nothing to do for at least another three months. We are appalled by Babergh's behaviour."

Babergh District Council senior environmental health officer, Sue Herne, was unable to give a full explanation over why the decision had been deferred.

"All I can say is the decision has been deferred for further investigation and will be reconsidered in January. I cannot give any more details on the subject at this stage," she added.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk