Wannabe BMX biker-park boys

They're not stupid, the young lads who hang around our streets on their bikes.

Certainly, the ones I met this morning in Bushmead were just the opposite.

Sharp-eyed ("What are you doing, knocking on doors?"; this as I canvassed my way round Chalkdown).

Cocky ("Hello Eileen!", shouted the unofficial leader, as he caught sight of one of the lovely elderly neighbours I'd been speaking to; she ignored the, presumably, over-familiar call in front of others).

But above all bored.

"Do you have a BMX park?", I asked. "Not one for miles", they groaned, "though we have asked Luton Borough Council to put one in Bushmead Park".

It's the same everywhere in my ward. Barton's boys are equally bursting with energy and bored out of their brains at this time of year, when the weather makes it impossible for them to go off over the hills on their bikes, even if their parents allowed them to.

It was great to see the dozen or so 12-14 year olds out and about in Bushmead with their mates, in the fresh air, even on such a sullen January day. Much better than being stuck at home in front of a computer game. They deserve something more than the zippo that Councils and the property developers have provided young people with.

I gave them my contact details and asked them to get a parent to call me if they wanted to help with the project, because that's what I think is needed: a push from the parents and a pull from the public sector, people such as me and those working in youth services in Central Beds and Luton Borough Council.

It's about time that local Councils, starting with Central Bedfordshire Council, and other bodies that claim to have an interest in our communities, earmarked some money to go towards the project. We're letting these young people down; they don't want to hang around the streets any more than locals want to see them hanging around.

After all, the bored young biker lads of Barton and Bushmead are worth it.

Want to help with the Barton-le-Clay BMX-park project? Or indeed get one going for Bushmead? Then please e-mail me at janet.nunn@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk using the heading 'Barton BMX' or 'Bushmead BMX' to get involved. Thank you.