A school’s soon-to-be-completed mountain bike trail has already attracted fierce criticism from neighbours, who claim the track, which they say is being used by local children without permission, has “ruined” their lives and “massively” devalued their houses – because kids have been “peering” into their homes and “waving and smiling” at them.

Residents who live near Folkestone Academy have also called for better security, due to youngsters accessing the site before it has officially opened, while raising concerns that the bike track will “attract the wrong type of people”.

In April, we reported that plans to build a new cycling track at Folkestone Academy were approved by Folkestone and Hythe District Council, following the creation of the UK’s first purpose-built skate spark at the Kent school.

The £150,000 facility is currently being built on an underutilised part of the school’s campus, backing onto homes in Grasmere Gardens. It will consist of a 480-metre trail split into two loops, with a free-flowing area including jumps and obstacles, with teachers saying it will provide an alternative to riding on “busy roads” or on pavements.

Folkestone Academy mountain bike track
Folkestone Academy mountain bike track (Image Credit: Folkestone Academy)

The planning application was met with vocal criticism from Grasmere Gardens residents, who claimed the creation of the track would place their “peace and privacy” under threat, comparing the potential noise to “living next to a motorway”. 23 letters were also submitted to the local authority’s planning portal opposing the proposals.

Amid this criticism, the plans for the track were originally submitted in January 2024 and rejected last year, but were eventually granted in April following revisions and an “acoustic assessment” submitted to the council, which failed to show a drastic impact in noise levels on neighbouring properties.

However, with the track now nearing completion, these criticisms have reemerged this week, as locals claim the facility has caused privacy and safeguarding concerns.

Speaking to KentOnline, Grasmere Gardens resident Ian Price, whose sons’ bedrooms overlook the track, criticised the location of the mountain bike and BMX trail and said his family have already seen young cyclists looking into their home.

Folkestone Academy mountain bike track
Folkestone Academy mountain bike track (Image Credit: Folkestone Academy)

“We never had an issue with them having the cycle track,” he said. “But they’ve got a massive playing field area, and they chose to put it right against all the back fences of the residents.

“The other day, there were some kids at the top of the track who saw us and started waving and smiling.”

As well as being used by students during school hours, the track will also be open outside term time, from 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 2pm on weekends and bank holidays.

And Price argues that, due to this range of opening hours, the school needs to install an opaque barrier around the track, instead of the standard chain link fencing currently in place.

“If they’re going to have it there, I’d rather they had a screen around it – maybe a solid wall – and then they could put a gate on it and lock it up,” he said.

“That way, when it’s in use, they’ll be confined within that area and not looking out on us.”

> “God forbid children get outside and have fun”: Police slammed for taping off grass ‘ramp’ used by young cyclists, amid concerns over anti-social behaviour, damage, and near misses with drivers

Price also told the website that children are currently ignoring the ‘do not use’ signs on display at the track, and have been using it to ride their bikes over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, another neighbour has even claimed that the track’s installation has “ruined” their quality of life, while fearing that it will “attract the wrong type of people”.

“I’m worried about where they are going to sit and drink alcohol at night,” they said. “It’s ruined living here and devalued our houses massively.”

In response to these concerns from residents, a spokesperson for Folkestone Academy pointed out that the fence separating the trail from the houses in Grasmere Gardens is of sufficient height and has been used by neighbours to install bushes and plants, blocking their view of the school grounds.

Folkestone Academy mountain bike track
Folkestone Academy mountain bike track (Image Credit: Folkestone Academy)

“We have been through the formal planning process for this track and our plans have been approved by Folkestone and Hythe District Council,” the spokesperson told road.cc on Friday.

“The site is well secured to deter unauthorised access out of hours. The fencing between the school’s land and the adjacent housing is over two metres high, with many houses using our fencing as a trellis for plants and bushes in their gardens.

“We believe that this bike track will offer our students and local young people an exciting space where they can enjoy physical activity and develop new skills.

“For many of our children their only alternative is to cycle on busy roads or along pavements and this facility is unique in Folkestone in offering a specialist mountain bike trail.”

> “They’re saying bikes and kids aren’t welcome”: Conservationists slammed for “vindictive” destruction of children’s bike track – but councillor says work will stop speeding cyclists and “undo harm” in wood

Of course, the residents of Grasmere Gardens aren’t alone when it comes to opposing cycling facilities used by children.

Earlier this year, we reported that a group of conservation volunteers in Sheffield were accused of leaving a wooded area “in a mess” after a popular children’s mountain bike trail was dug up and destroyed in what locals have described as a “malicious and vindictive” act targeting young cyclists.

In June, a park ranger and 15 volunteers from the Friends of the Porter Valley (FOPV) conservation group dug up and removed an “unapproved” bike track on a steep slope in Trippet Wood, in Sheffield’s Bingham Park nature reserve.

Conservationists, including Lib Dem councillor Barbara Masters, dig up children’s bike track in Sheffield
Conservationists, including Lib Dem councillor Barbara Masters, dig up children’s bike track in Sheffield (Image Credit: Friends of the Porter Valley)

According to the park’s Ranger Service, the track was “much larger in scale” than similar trails in the valley, containing a series of jumps, bankings, and ramps, “causing a significant amount of damage due to excavation (at depth) of the ground”.

But after the move was criticised by locals as “spiteful” and an indication that “bikes and kids aren’t welcome in the woods”, a local councillor who took part in the “unsanctioned” track’s destruction insisted that the work was necessary to repair the damage allegedly caused by the trail, while arguing that it will “remove the danger speeding cyclists pose to other woods users”.

Police tape off grass bank in Baschurch village hall grounds used by young cyclists
Police tape off grass bank in Baschurch village hall grounds used by young cyclists (Image Credit: Oswestry and Ellesmere Police)

In May, police in Shropshire were criticised by local cyclists for taping off a grass area in the grounds of a village hall, which was reportedly used by schoolchildren on mountain bikes as a ramp, sparking concerns about potential collisions with passing motorists.

And in July 2024, a group of young cyclists in Lancashire were criticised by conservationists for allegedly causing “serious” damage to a nature reserve by digging up parts of the earth to create mountain bike jumps.

> “They threatened to pop their tyres!” Local kids who cleared woodland of rubbish to create bike track accused of anti-social behaviour and causing “severe damage” by residents, as housing association fences off entrances to ward off young cyclists

That criticism came around the same time children in South Wales were threatened by residents and stopped from entering a woodland which they had cleared of litter to use as a cycle track, which the local housing association claimed was anti-social behaviour that was causing “severe damage” to the area.

Woodland fenced off after children create bike track
Woodland fenced off after children create bike track (Image Credit: Bon Afron Housing Association)

Throughout June 2024, the group of local kids, all around primary school age, spent their weekends clearing rubbish from Garw Wood, which runs between houses in Croesyceiliog, a suburb of Cwmbran, to create a makeshift bike park.

However, at the end of the month, the Bron Afon community housing association fenced off the entrances to the ancient woodland, a decision it claimed was due to “anti-social behaviour in the area which has caused damage” – but which local parents have claimed was due to pressure from residents who had threatened and swore at the children.