THOUSANDS of pounds of Douglas ratepayers’ money has being spent building and maintaining the BMX track in Noble’s Park.
There was therefore a considerable degree of alarm along Douglas councillors when BMX track experts Clark & Kent recommended another £60,000 was spent upgrading the track to a ‘top specification’ national track.
The starting gate alone would cost £20,000.
No significant safety concerns with the track were raised.
The report received short shrift from Douglas Council’s regeneration and community advisory committee, which had commissioned it after BMX Isle of Man raised some concerns about the track’s suitability.
Instead, it agreed that help should be sought from the British Cycling Association, on what works were essential – and not just desirable.
At last week’s Douglas Council meeting, a number of councillors agreed that the track should be of a usable standard but that the level of spending suggested was unrealistic.
Councillor John Faragher (Derby) said: ‘We want it to be of a standard that enables it to be used for races. But it doesn’t need to be the best track in the world.’
Council leader David Christian (Hills) said thousands of pounds had been spent developing the track, adding: ‘It needs to be made to work as it is now.’
Lead member of the regeneration and community advisory committee Stephen Pitts described the situation with the BMX track as ‘a fair mess’.
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