Proposals for a children’s bike track in a park in Nelson have attracted criticism from some outraged residents, after a petition which attracted over 200 signatures claimed the track would lead to anti-social behaviour, parking issues, and the “disturbance of a tranquil area” due to the potential for an increased number of children riding bikes through the woodland.

In 2022, Pendle Borough Council and the Nelson Town Deal Board first proposed the creation of a BMX track, which would be built through the woodland within Marsden Park in the Lancashire town, which is undergoing a series of improvements including the building of a new playground, refurbished tennis courts, and a new multi-use games area.

However, plans for the BMX track were soon scrapped and replaced by a proposed junior pump track, after the board concluded that the potential for “BMX or other bikes crossing footpaths within the park” posed a serious health and safety risk.

The planned location for the track has also changed twice over the past two years, after proposals for it to be built on the site of a former outdoor pool area were kiboshed by residents, who argued that it would be “too close” to nearby houses and a narrow road, and that “the area would be better served as a picnic site or orchard or growing space”.

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According to Pendle Borough Council, officers then proposed that the track should be built on the site of an informal football area in the centre of the park woodland, due to its “contained” location “away from houses”.

However, that change of location still failed to satisfy local residents who, during the council’s consultation process, lodged a petition against the pump track scheme, which attracted over 200 signatures.

The petition argued that the pump track would lead to “parking issues, anti-social behaviour, the disturbance of a tranquil area, an increased number of children riding cycles through the park, and a lack of access for emergency vehicles”.

Finally, the petition concluded that “pump tracks should not be in a park”.

However, a counter-petition, supported by local cycling campaigners and attracting 133 signatures, argued that the track would instead “provide alternative activities to reduce anti-social behaviour”.

The petition also pointed out that the infrastructure, aimed at children, would promote physical exercise, well-being, and skill creation among young people, while also providing a feeder group to the large cycle hub at nearby Barrowford.

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Meanwhile, the residents opposing the scheme called for several other sites to be considered, all of which were deemed unsuitable by council officers. Nevertheless, a third location was identified within Marsden Park, on the corner of Marsden Hall Road and Hallam Road – the council said earlier this month that it has informed the lead petitioner of the new plans and is yet to receive a response.

And in a meeting of Pendle Borough Council last week, the local authority’s deputy leader, Liberal Democrat councillor David Whipp, dismissed the initial opposition as a “storm in an open-air swimming pool”.

“I don’t want to belittle the legitimate concerns of residents. But I also can’t help feeling this is a storm in an open-air swimming pool,” he said.

“[Town Board chair] Stephen Barnes and I were both involved in closing it, which alienated people at the time. But time moves on. I think it was appropriate to consider a pump track. It’s also important to listen to what local people feel.”

However, Whipp also noted that the need to maintain the pump track must be taken into account before any plans are finalised.

“Pendle Council has no money for maintenance of the track or Marsden Park generally. So would maintenance costs be picked up by Nelson Town Council?” he asked the meeting.

“It’s all very well to spend millions on facilities but if there’s no money for maintenance, it’s a waste of public money.

“We, the council, might have to slash £1 million from budgets next year. If the town deal is not supplying maintenance money, we should do something different that won’t have these consequences.”

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However, Phil Riley, a park manager at the council, pointed out that the track’s proposed tarmac surface, with the exception of some moss treatment, would not require much maintenance.

“It will be tarmac because it will have bikes and electric scooters going on it, being realistic. But the Pendle Panthers BMX club has offered help,” he said.

“Regarding anti-social behaviour, Marsden Park is challenging, as many parks are in Nelson. I wonder what engagement is like with young people and with other organisations?

“I think we have a good model about engaging with neighbourhoods. This issue is about maintenance but also how we support young people, and potential and perceived anti-social behaviour.”

Of course, local fears about the perceived potential for anti-social behaviour on pump or BMX tracks are not just confined to Pendle.

In June, we reported that a bid by a school in Folkestone, Kent, to build a BMX track for its students was met with opposition from nearby residents, who claimed the “noisy bikers” would disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the neighbourhood and make it like “living next to a motorway”.

And back in 2021, a councillor in Surrey claimed that a planned bike park near Dorking “could attract child molesters” – though she later claimed her comments were misinterpreted.