Councillor Fallon’s letter last week seems to be a classic example of criticising other people to distract attention from the real problem. Wiltshire Council and Chippenham Town Council decided that Monkton Park was the best location for a skatepark in Chippenham. Many people said this was obviously a bad location.

It is beautiful parkland by the river which would be ruined by a concrete skatepark. It floods regularly. It’s near houses and in the middle of peaceful parkland, both of which would be badly affected by the noise. The park is used widely by people of all ages and these people won’t be able to use it once it’s been built on.

Councillor Fallon ignores all these points though and informs us that anybody who lives nearby and doesn’t like it is a NIMBY. She then dismisses more than 1,000 people who signed a petition against locating this in Monkton Park because many of them don’t live nearby! Well, that denies all of Chippenham an opinion. So whose opinion does count? Not even fellow council members. Anybody on the council who disagrees isn’t showing ‘unity and loyalty’. She seems genuinely unaware that hundreds of people use this park every day, and they want to keep it as a park rather than cover it in concrete.

It is very clear that this is the most challenging and expensive site to deliver a skatepark. The proximity to the river and nearby houses and the loss of crucial parkland in the town make this location uniquely unsuitable. But don’t take my word for it. In January, after several years of suggesting Monkton Park was its preferred location, the council announced it would submit a planning application at the beginning of February. It’s now nearly June and the planning office still haven’t received an acceptable application. Why? It’s pretty clear the proposed site has some serious problems.

Monkton Park is a poor choice. It is far more expensive and far less suitable than many other sites in Chippenham. Rather than persisting with the endless problems that come with this site, it’s time to choose one of many other locations where this could go.

JAMES ADMAN St Mary Street, Chippenham