Letter: Young people should have more of a say on Settle skatepark plans

SIR- I am writing to you to voice my opinion. The letter (referring to a proposed skate park in Settle) (A great plan, but in the wrong location, Craven Herald letters, May 9) was not the voice you needed to hear. I agree with some points, but as I am a teenager in Settle, I know many people would benefit from the skate park now. My point is that the older generation should not have as much to say. I'm not saying they should not have a say, but the younger people should have more of a say on the issue. I recently went to a meeting at Settle College to discuss what will be there. I really enjoyed it and liked pushing my opinion. My brother also remembers getting involved and he is 19 now, he was 13 when he first got involved. This shows how long the skate park idea has been going on, which I believe is 16 to 17 years. If we don't get it done now, the funding will disappear. We have worked hard to get the money, we have done bake sales, wristbands and have sold homemade lemonade, just as a few examples. As a young person in Settle, I know there isn't anything to do here. Other places like Ingleton, Skipton and Bentham have skate/bike parks. People locally bad mouth the skate park project as teenagers will act badly near young people in the park, but at the moment, there is nothing to do for teenagers, so this makes people act much worse.