I just spoke to French, and it turns out that our Elected Officials in Aldershot have taken it upon themselves to bull-dose the park and destroy the hard work of all those who have been involved in the DIY creation the day before the Laupside fundraiser Jam. In the last few months Laupside has grown peacefully and steadily, with the enthusiasm and encouragement of the local police force, as well as locals whom have seen it as an opportunity to build something positive within the Aldershot skateboard scene (on the waste ground used in the past only for junkies and prostitution), where facilities are seriously lacking, or badly maintained (to the point where the Mini ramp is now a serious danger).
The Jam tomorrow was not going to be an illegal rave, nor would it have been a drunken brawl. What it would have been was a celebration of what creative minds, and positive hearts can do when they put the heads together. It is a sorry shame that before it could even prove itself, Laupside was destroyed. A case of ‘If you are going to have some fun without my permission, then i am going to break all your toys before you get the chance’. I am sure that if the officials at the council were of a more mature level, they would have contacted French or Laup (who’ numbers they have) and discussed an alternative to the Jam, or offered some conditions, and something could have been agreed that would have made everybody happy, and probably would have seen the council re-elected.
Still don’t lose heart, we are all still going down there tomorrow and there will be a Jam of some kind. We are strong, and it takes a little more than a few ‘holy shit, they destroyed the entire park!’ to put us off. Besides, the local and county papers are coming down at 12 o’clock as they are very interested to run a story on how the council has its priorities all wrong.
If you can’t make it, or you think you’d like to voice your opinion (which is your right as a British citizen) then please feel free to contact Phil Stone at Rushmoor County Council on 01252 398 398, or you can email him on – customerservices@rushmoor.gov.uk
SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
seriously? what harm were we doing skating there? few good memorys skating there, hopefully the council realise how bad they screwed up, but see you guys saturday as im still going!
RED TAPE AND BLACK HEARTS MATE, SAD BUT TRUE.
STILL, IT WAS GOOD FUN AT FLEET!!!
Guys, I was one of the many Police officers who visited the site many times, and spoke with you all… It was a great shame for the council to pull it all down, but at the same time your web advert was maybe worded wrong, and I expect the council saw that and worried…
Good luck, if you are looking to re-build elsewhere guys..
PC
Thank for your comment, and thanks for your positive approach to Laupside.
I think that good will come out of it, in the sense that now the Aldershot locals will be able to work along side the local authority to create something that everybody is happy with.
Thanks again, and stoked that you are taking an interest in something like this, when i was a kid, the police never cared at all, it’s great!
Stu
such a shame this happened.
No worries Stu…. I was temped to join in, but did not fancy a night a Frimley Park Hospital…
We were all young once.. it seems some people forget this though.. and are more concerned with results rather than whats good for the locals…
PC
….. surely these council people are of the age that they were the hippies that wanted to “stick it to the man” and “change the world”…. but instead they wanna wrap it up in red tape and not think outside the box or rather cubicled office.
I’m just so stoked that the Police. parents and other members of society have become such great supporters.
It’ll be great to see how much of the local tax payers money Mr Stoneman wasted on knocking this down, when he could have used that to bring in the changes he said it needed to be in his words “safe” for users. Considering the local park is a death trap… I just don’t get the safety excuse.
Hey guys,
Our dad took us to Laupside for the jam only to find it had been destroyed. We went over to Fleet and had a skate with all the guys. We were the two little groms, had a good day, even won some goodies. Still waiting for our King Pic Surpises though!!!!!