Article For Folkestone Herald

2 December 2004

Saturday was Folkestone’s Day of Youth.

After my advice centre in Hythe and Folkestone I went to the opening of the new Skate Park at the Sports Centre.

This was a very happy ceremony, well-attended by parents, onlookers, and, of course, young people themselves.

It has taken a great deal of hard work and help from many quarters to bring this dream to fruition. The skate park was one of the top priorities of Go Folkestone, the very successful action group chaired by Philip Carter. The County Council, energetically prompted by Councillor Roland Tolputt, has contributed a large proportion of the cost. Shepway District Council has done its bit and so have a number of individuals ranging from Lynne Smith who masterminded the project for Go Folkestone to the concerned citizen who contributed £100 but wishes to remain anonymous.

We all want our young people to lead constructive law-abiding lives and we want them to stay out of trouble. So opportunities for them to get rid of excess energy at places like the skate park are surely welcome.

From the skate park I went to inspect the future home of the Folkestone Youth Project which I chair. We have been working for some time to provide somewhere where young people in the area can get together, do their own thing and, again, stay out of trouble. Thanks to the generosity of Roger de Haan we now have a building which we will need, over a period of time, to fit out. It is a very exciting prospect and one I am greatly looking forward to making a reality.

These are only some of the many projects which are making great progress in Shepway. I sense a growing feeling that the District is on the move. Shepway faces an exciting future. Let’s make sure that this time it really happens.