It's a little way-away over in Biggin Hill, but Bromley Council's Youth Opportunity Fund has been working with the Council's Children and Young People Service to give the youth community there a fantastic resource: a new bike and skate bowl.
Environmental Services and Bromley Police's Biggin Hill Safer Neighbourhood scheme have been involved in the project too, and it's obviously been a big hit with the local youngsters.
The Skate bowl's designers, Wheelscape Design & Ride, have produced a Clover Bowl, a classic design perfect for any age group with transitions, bumps and angles geared to be "fast and fun".
Schemes like this may sometimes fall foul to the Generation Divide, but in fact, far from a negative place for undesirables to hang out, there springs up a community ethic where the kids want to look after each other, build relationships, confidence and skills, and develop a focus - especially essential when they're in-betweeners: youngsters too old for childish pursuits but too young for adult ones.
The Spitfire Youth Centre in Biggin Hill works hard to develop all of the above, and we should encourage other such projects throughout the borough, both in and outside of Bromley town itself.
The kids have somewhere 'street' to hang out, they're active, co-ordinated, focussed, doing something - what more can we ask?
Kim
Thank you for reading thebestof Bromley Blog. If you have something to say about Bromley and what's going on for you in this London Borough, we'd love to hear from you. Come and blog with us: email bromley@thebestof.co.uk
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Kim Frances is a freelance writer and photographer with The Little White Studio.
Image below courtesy of Wheelscape Design & Ride, unashamedly plundered from their website
