THE building of a state-of-the-art skate park in Stevenage is a brilliant idea, put forward by the MBA Skate Forum, in so far as it will give young people with a common interest somewhere to gather.

Shoppers in the town centre, particularly near Tesco, are blighted by youngsters on skateboards who make use of the railings and steps for jumps and tricks. This anti-social behaviour will surely be alleviated, or even eliminated, if a modern skate park is developed.

A new skate park will also provide somewhere for those with real talent to practice their skills and, who knows, they could make a career out of it.

It is good for young people to interact with each other face-to-face, and not just be content to sit in front of a television or a computer screen. Too many youngsters these days play computer games and foster friendships through social networking sites such as Facebook. The real world needs to be made more exciting in order to entice them away from this virtual world.

The plans for a new skate plaza, however, do raise some concerns with me.

Firstly, skate parks tend to attract graffiti and in very little time the area could become an eyesore.

The skate plaza would also need to be in a fairly isolated location, away from residential areas, to avoid issues surrounding noise pollution.

A skate park in Stevenage is only a good idea if the plans for it are well thought through, and are sensitive to the area surrounding it. If they are not, it could quite simply be a recipe for disaster.