When Mr. Stainzy and I began a discussion with the council about this skate ramp we offered, it was acknowledged there are certain protocols to consider and information to gather. The Portishead Town Council Rec. and Works meeting was one such event we believed was important to attend. We wanted to introduce ourselves, to publicly offer our gift to the town, gauge the reaction from the councillors and to find out if it was the town council or North Somerset Council we needed approach.
It just so happened the meeting fell on 31st October and I wasn’t about to miss an evening dressing up and bashing on doors for sweets…. for the kids, you understand. Hence the reason I looked like a goth Victorian chimney sweep.

To keep you all in the loop, the town council ostensibly agreed it was a kind offer and were grateful.
Their concerns were safety of those using the ramp, nearby  residents and the possibility of anti-social behaviour.
At this point a firm location at Merlin Park had not been proposed or agreed upon.
We offered it for Merlin Park because there is already skate/wheels equipment and our ramp would either be additional or an upgrade.
The benefit of the half-pipe is it doesn’t matter if the ground it sits on is worthy of skate and scooter wheels or not (which it isn’t is my and Matt’s opinion, feel free to add your own comments on that issue).
The ramp is an effective and inexpensive short time solution to current demand. The council barely have to make a dent in their coffers to affect history!
A meeting at Merlin Park with representatives from both town and district council and Ed Mackay, Senior Natural Environment Officer for North Somerset Council saw us agree that the ramp would be best positioned just outside the ‘T’ shaped area where the current ramps are positioned.
Now a little about that – The ‘T’ is leased by the town council from NSC. The grass surrounding is NSC land.
I still believe the ‘T’ needs resurfacing and the ramps need repositioning to get the best use out of them but that costs money and anyone from the town council will tell you how cash-strapped it is…

Luckily, our ramp, in preparation, is not high maintenance and Ed has pledged his support and has offered North Somerset resources at his disposal to flatten the ground at to provide the concrete supports – which is fantastic news.
So at this point it looks good to go. We’re meeting again week after next to line out the exact area the ramp will sit and once the foundation is ready we can begin the build, obviously on a date to be arranged.
As soon as it is signed off by the inspector it becomes the town’s to use.
Please just look after it when it’s built, yeah? And if you see anyone up to no good come and tell me and I’ll go there and kick their ass!

Here’s the video of me addressing the committee at the Rec. and Works meeting: