BMX track's future up in air ahead of meeting

Councillor Carolyn Cantrell said the BMX track in Cottingham offered an alternative to mainstream sports

The future of a BMX track on a playing field in Cottingham will be the talking point at a public meeting later.

Cottingham Parish Council said it was keen to find out if people would be willing to help manage the site in the future, following some concerns about how well it was used and issues of anti-social behaviour.

The track has been in use on King George V Playing Fields since 2008 but the authority said additional maintenance would be required in the longer term.

Councillor Carolyn Cantrell, who represents South Ward, said it was widely used by different age groups and offered an alternative to mainstream sports.

Some parents have set up a Facebook group to save the track

She said: "It's really important because a lot of the time children are pushed into doing team sports, whereas this is something different.

"It takes them away from football, rugby and cricket and it gives them an independence and it's a good way of confidence building."

Emma Fitzgerald and other residents have set up a Facebook group called Cottingham BMX Track, to share community support.

Both her sons use the track and she said many parents had shared how valuable it had been for their kids, building skills, confidence and friendships.

She said: "It's more than just a track. It's a space where young people grow. Let's work together to save it."

Councillor Julia Marten, chairwoman of the parish council, said "We haven't made any decision yet, we want to know how well the track is used, whether local youngsters want to keep it and increase usage and whether there is a group of people that would be willing to help manage it."

The parish council said it would also be launching a survey in the coming weeks to ensure everyone could have a say.

It said a decision would be made later in the year about whether to keep and develop the site or to restore it to grass and return it to East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC), which owns the land.

Councillor Alex Duke hopes the track could inspire a future Olympian

The site is leased to Cottingham King George V Friends Group and any proposals to make changes to the site would need to be made to ERYC.

Councillor Alex Duke said users of the track ranged from five year olds to parents.

"There are older kids who teach younger kids how to manage the hills. Who knows, you could actually have a future BMX Olympian here and this track doesn't cost any money," he said.

The public consultation will take place at 7.15pm in the Darby and Joan Hall on Finkle Street.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Click here to download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Click here to download the BBC News app from Google Play for Android devices.