New artificial pitch to open as part of £4.1million leisure centre revamp (From Echo)

Never mind more sports facilities for Canvey and South Benfleet, what about the 13 to 17 year olds in Hadleigh? They have nothing to do. This age group has skate/cycle ramps in Canvey, Benfleet, Leigh and Rayleigh but not in Hadleigh. Why not? This age group is not very mobile, doesn't have transport or much money and few parents are prepared to cart them around to other areas. Can the dearth of facilities for young Hadleigh teens be because they don't vote or because our esteemed Councillors don't want to believe the young Hadleigh teens are a problem. They should go for a walk around Hadleigh of a summers evening and see the crowd of kids bored out of their skulls looking for something to do.

As per the norm Canvey takes the biggest slice of the cake then expect the Benfleet resident to travel to Canvey to use the facilities they have paid for.

Brunning999...

I live in Benfleet and I have no problem with travelling to Canvey to use the fantastic facilities on offer. It's really not far.

There is ample public transport on offer for those with no car or bike.

Bored of people like you moaning for the sake of it.

5759 wrote:
Brunning999... I live in Benfleet and I have no problem with travelling to Canvey to use the fantastic facilities on offer. It's really not far. There is ample public transport on offer for those with no car or bike. Bored of people like you moaning for the sake of it.

You may well be able to travel to Canvey no problem but you are an adult, I presume, and living in Benfleet which is right next to Canvey in case you haven't noticed. The point is that the vast majority of 13 to 17 year olds do not have transport, do not have much money, and do not have parents prepared to ferry them around which is why most congregate in their local parks of an evening which is fine if they have something to do in them but not so good if they don't as boredom sets in and they do things they shouldn't do. I am reliably informed that since the Council built the skate/cycle ramps in Waterside, which is just down the road from Winter Gardens, that the anti social behaviour problems in Winter Gardens have reduced dramatically. It is about time that Hadleigh youngsters were given the same facilities in Hadleigh as they are not going to travel to Waterside despite your claims.

Should have made it clear that my point is specifically about the 13 to 17 age group, who are too old to keep at home every night, especially the boys, but too young to use licenced premises and unlikely and or unwilling to travel far. They are also the group most likely to engage in anti social behaviour, mostly because no-one caters for them today unike my day when we had plenty of bike tracks and youth clubs to keep us occupied. Today the kids in Hadleigh have none of that so they congregate in the local parks and get up to mischief. Give them skate/cycle ramps and teenage villages. That won't stop them congregating in the parks but it will give them something to do to stop them getting bored. It's not rocket science.

Why is it there is always someone that has to shoot down something positive. Majority of 13-17 year olds will have bikes or scooters. If they don't why not just use we what used when we were kids and what as an adult I still try to use as much as possible. My legs!!
Canvey to Benfleet is not far and I walk this most mornings to use the train station. As a kid I would use my bike everywhere. Kids can jog to the football pitch it will serve as a warmup and solve child obsesity. Stop nannying kids by give them an excuse not to go.

dealwiththeyobs wrote:
Why is it there is always someone that has to shoot down something positive. Majority of 13-17 year olds will have bikes or scooters. If they don't why not just use we what used when we were kids and what as an adult I still try to use as much as possible. My legs!! Canvey to Benfleet is not far and I walk this most mornings to use the train station. As a kid I would use my bike everywhere. Kids can jog to the football pitch it will serve as a warmup and solve child obsesity. Stop nannying kids by give them an excuse not to go.

You obviously know nothing about kids. Are you seriously suggesting that kids from Hadleigh should walk the four miles to Canvey to use the facilities at Waterside? (distance from John Burrows to Waterside) Kids of this age are driven by biology (try reading the New Scientist section on teenagers) to seek out their friends and if they live in Hadleigh that means congregating with their friends in Hadleigh NOT on Canvey. Try visiting John Burrows recreation ground any warm summers evening and you'll find hordes of kids milling about and I guarantee that most of them are residents of Hadleigh (I know this to be a fact as I recognise a lot of them as local having been involved in local sports groups). Trouble is that unlike Leigh, Rayleigh, Rawreth, Canvey etc which all have skate/cycle ramps, the kids from Hadleigh have nothing to do so boredom sets in and we all know what that can lead to. Years ago the church and the schools provided youth clubs (two in Hadleigh) for them to meet up and expend a bit of energy but they have all closed now. Likewise we had several dirt tracks in Hadleigh when cycle speedway was fashionable but most are gone now and speedway style tracks are no longer in fashion, what the kids want now are ramps but there aren't any in Hadleigh. Try basing your views on reality rather than your own wishful thinking about what you think young teens should do.

Btw dealwiththeyobs you have nothing to complain about if you live on Canvey (as your post suggests) as I am reliably informed that ever since the skate/cycle ramps and teenage village were built at Waterside the incidence of anti social behaviour in adjacent areas has dropped dramatically since the kids have had somewhere to go of an evening. It would be nice if Hadleigh residents (and kids) could enjoy the same benefits that you now enjoy.

Aint it just the truth wrote:
Btw dealwiththeyobs you have nothing to complain about if you live on Canvey (as your post suggests) as I am reliably informed that ever since the skate/cycle ramps and teenage village were built at Waterside the incidence of anti social behaviour in adjacent areas has dropped dramatically since the kids have had somewhere to go of an evening. It would be nice if Hadleigh residents (and kids) could enjoy the same benefits that you now enjoy.

Agreed, but Waterside Farm is actually away from residential areas. Where in Hadleigh would you like it built? Look at the state of the community hall in Hadleigh. Would residents around John Burroughs allow a skate park there?

John T Pharro wrote:

Aint it just the truth wrote: Btw dealwiththeyobs you have nothing to complain about if you live on Canvey (as your post suggests) as I am reliably informed that ever since the skate/cycle ramps and teenage village were built at Waterside the incidence of anti social behaviour in adjacent areas has dropped dramatically since the kids have had somewhere to go of an evening. It would be nice if Hadleigh residents (and kids) could enjoy the same benefits that you now enjoy.

Agreed, but Waterside Farm is actually away from residential areas. Where in Hadleigh would you like it built? Look at the state of the community hall in Hadleigh. Would residents around John Burroughs allow a skate park there?

The kids spend their evenings over there anyway and if it was built in the middle of the park, behind the community hall it would bother people a lot less than the kids do now when they party in the childrens playground. It would also be further away from the surrounding housing than the ramps in the Rayleigh and Rawreth parks are.