MEMBERS of the Bryn-y-Cwm Area Committee have been accused of 'steam rollering' the decision about the location of the proposed skatepark through the council's committees. The statement was made by a member of the public during public question time, at the committee's meeting in Llanfair Kilgeddin last week. Derrick Rose, of Pengenfford, questioned councillors about their preferred choice of site for the skatepark, Lower Meadow, and asked how the area had been selected. He also asked who would be responsible for the park once it was operational and what involvement CLARA has had throughout the process. Councillor Chris Woodhouse explained the decision on the site of the skatepark was a single member decision to be made by Councillor Liz Hacket Pain, cabinet member for community learning, leisure and culture. "It is the feeling of officers and skaters that if there was to be a skateboard park, Lower Meadow would be the preferred site," he said. "Some sites have been rejected, other sites are being looked at, and no decision has been made." "The criteria used for looking at different sites says it must be 30 metres away from houses, so as not to disturb people, have adequate lighting, some highway access and proximity to a telephone. There is no hard and fast criteria, it is a framework we could work with consistently." Councillor Woodhouse also explained that CLARA operated as an advice group as it has background knowledge about skateparks and knows local youngsters and skaters. "We are the owners of the land and facilities and the responsibility would be ours, but we can't rule out that in the future CLARA could have some involvement, such as organising competitions and dealing with repairs." Mr Rose told the meeting a large number of residents in Lower Meadow intend to object to the site being put forward for planning permission and said that a petition had been collected objecting to the proposals. Councillor Verona Nelmes said she was only aware of one other possible site for the skatepark and wished to know what other sites had been considered. "We have sought to put a skatepark in the town for youngsters and we have been castigated for being one of the last towns to get one. "We are conscious of the fact we cannot please everyone, wherever we put the site there will be objections," she said. Councillor Anthony Carrington agreed with Councillor Nelmes, saying the council had to consider the needs of everyone involved. "We need to speak to Councillor Hacket Pain so we can have the answers to these questions. Can we have a meeting with her to discuss this and look at the other sites?" he said. The committee was, however, warned that plans to hold a meeting to look at possible sites could delay the matter further. "It's a little bit sad for those people who have been involved in this over the years if we are going to start the process again," Councillor Rob Griffiths said. "I know all the sites and the reasons they have been turned down. "We need to proceed with this as quickly as we can, first for young people who need this skatepark and also because people living near the sites want to know what is happening." Councillor Douglas Edwards told the meeting that during the decision process Councillor Alan Breeze, former cabinet member for community learning, leisure and culture, and Councillor Hacket Pain had visited all sites and met with local residents. "This matter is following a procedure and I think that procedure should be allowed to flow its natural course and members will get the chance to comment," Councillor Eric Saxon said. Mr Rose said he was "absolutely horrified" to learn what little information some members of the committee had about the proposed skatepark. "There are members who have been dealing with it for months and these members are trying to steamroller it over those members who don't know much about it," he said. The committee agreed to invite Councillor Hacket Pain to a special public meeting of the Bryn-y-Cwm Area Committee to discuss people's concerns.