Town council agrees to conduct survey seeking youths’ views on facilities in Hunstanton

The views of youngsters in Hunstanton will be sought in the coming months, to find out what facilities they would like to see in the town.

It comes after the meeting of Hunstanton Town Council on Friday, which was told of the possibility of conducting a survey of the town’s youth.

The meeting also heard from resident Rebecca Martin, who said she and her 10-year-old son Caleb would like the idea of a skatepark to be re-explored.

She said: “What started a couple of years ago seems to have died a death. We are here to hear what’s happening, we want to get any support we can really.”

Councillor Robert Corby said the youth working party was “keen” to move the skatepark forward.

Mr Corby said that, as there was a need to be GDPR-compliant (General Data Protection Regulation), they were looking into the possibility of the survey being shared at schools via Google Classroom.

Deputy mayor Adrian Winnington said: “One reason we are doing this [survey] is because the borough council wanted evidence that the youth in the town wanted the skatepark, or anything like that. This would provide that evidence.”

Geoffrey Smith said he believed the survey was a “good idea” as the skatepark “seems to be the top of the list for things young people in Hunstanton want”.

Meanwhile, Michael Ruston said it was important that there were not leading questions on the survey, and suggested they be written by a professional.

“They achieve greater validity if they have been done by someone who knows all about it,” he said.

Mr Corby said they would be seeking legal advice and hoped the survey could start in the next couple of months.

The meeting also heard that West Norfolk Council had previously said it would put £28,000 towards a new skatepark, but a further £50,000 would need to be raised.

Councillors were told that around £1,000 had been raised in 2017, before fundraising slowed down as the plans did not show any signs of progressing.

Mrs Martin said: “It’s stopped because people can’t keep raising money for something we can’t say is going to happen.”

Mayor Tony Bishopp said the council “needs to check” if the £28,000 is still available.

The council voted unanimously in favour of conducting the survey.