LISS Parish Council has been accused of "dragging its heels" by residents who are calling for a public meeting on the location of a controversial skate bowl. The £29,000 scheme is being lined up for West Liss Recreation Ground. But the parish council plan has been the subject of intense criticism from villagers who fear such a facility could lead to vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the area. And this week, yet another resident voiced her opinion that the facility could easily be situated elsewhere. Caroline Hinder, who lives close to the recreation ground, told The Herald: "The parish council has promised this to the teenagers of the village for some time and now appears to be dragging its heels. Why is there such a delay on the date of the next public meeting? "The BMX bikers and skaters I spoke to have no preference for a particular location of the skate bowl. "Some said Newman Collard is the obvious choice. "One boy suggested the huge space between the oval and the Roundabouts housing area on Forest Road. "There is also a large grass area in Dennis Way. Why has this not been considered? "I also understand from the BMX boys that, at last week's parish council meeting, someone suggested a bowl between Liss and Petersfield, as the Petersfield skate park is now deemed unsafe." Last week, the plan hit yet another stumbling block, when the Open Space Society, a national organisation based in Henley, wrote to parish councillors questioning whether the skate bowl would be a legal development on the recreation ground, which is a registered village green, and as such, subject to certain constraints on development. And this week, Mrs Hinder defended those protesting against the scheme, claiming they were not attacking the behaviour of sports enthusiasts. "It is not the skaters that I and many West Liss residents have issues with," she said. "The problem remains with the under-age drinkers it will attract from other villages, which the parish council chooses to ignore - are they naïve or clueless? "Many of us feel the council has portrayed the protesters as insensitive to the needs of the teenagers. This is definitely not the case. The BMX users in Liss are fully aware of this now." The chairman of Liss Parish Council, Nigel Paren, told The Herald that members were still taking advice on the objection from the Open Spaces Society. "This could be considered by some to be fundamental," he said. "Clearly we need to take some advice on this. We want to be able to say that we have answers to questions before a meeting takes place. "Other than that, we are more than ready to go."
