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Prom skateboard park safety fears
A NEW multi-million pound seafront skatepark could lead to tragedy and a child's death, tram bosses fear.
Blackpool Transport is objecting to council plans for the new Golden Mile attraction.
Bosses fear the 4.6m skateboard and BMX park – to be built on the new headland opposite Waterloo Road – is not safe as children could run across or fall on to the tram tracks.
Blackpool Transport's managing director Trevor Roberts has asked for the development to be walled or fenced off.
He said: "Our fears are children on skateboards will come straight off the skateboard park and across the tram track potentially at any point.
"People sitting in the lounging area will just wander willy nilly from that area across the tram track to the other side of the street."
It is also feared that as the new fleet of 16 supertrams are much quieter than existing trams, pedestrians using the new attraction will not hear them coming.
Blackpool Council's regeneration company ReBlackpool wants to build a skateboarding park, inline bowl and BMX area, plus an adventure playground on Waterloo Road.
But at this stage there are no plans to fence off the area.
A report to Blackpool's development control committee, which is due to meet on Monday to discuss the planning application, says: "The Promenade has successfully accommodated the tramway without segregation for more than a century."
FOR THE FULL STORY SEE FRIDAY'S GAZETTE.
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
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