Burton Latimer - Education:Kettering Council place skateboard ramp over school football pitch

Article from Kettering Evening Telegraph, 9th April 1991

School's Uphill Battle!

Johnathan Mitchell, 14 tackles the ramp watched by disappointed footballers, from left; Matthew Corse, 11, Andrew Huggleton, 11, Adrian Curtis, 11, Johnny Atkins, 10, Sam Clarke, 11, Craig McIlwain 10, Glenn Jack, 11, Adam Stugess, 10 and Stewart Greenaway, 10

A school head has hit out at council bosses who put a skateboard ramp on his school football pitch. Robert Mercer, head of Meadowside Junior School, arrived at school after the Easter break to discover the ramp where the goalposts should be. After he complained, Kettering Council told him it would foot the bill for the school team to hire a coach and play on a different pitch.

The ramp was recently built on the council-owned recreation ground, but residents in nearby Pioneer Avenue complained about the youngsters making too much noise. So the council moved the ramp to the other end of the park - to a pitch used by Meadowside School.

A spokesman for the council said it was under public pressure to move the ramp but was unable to contact the school because of the Easter break. The council has offered to pay the school's travelling expenses and they will reposition the pitch on a different part of the playing field next season.

Mr Mercer said: "It is ridiculous. I don't want the ramp to go back down to where the houses are because it does get very noisy - but it needs to be moved 10 metres out of the way so we can use the pitch."