Kettering's 'ridiculous' skateboarding ban finally set to be lifted

A ‘ridiculous’ order which left Kettering skateboarders open to a criminal record is finally set to be amended six years after it was introduced.

Just setting foot on a skateboard in the town’s Market Place or Morrisons car park was banned under a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in 2016, when the now-defunct Kettering Borough Council (KBC) became the first authority to take the drastic step.

The decision came despite a petition with more than 3,000 signatures and a public row which saw one councillor quit the ruling Conservatives. Skateboarders were warned they could be given a £100 fixed penalty notice if they breached the order, and prosecuted and taken to court if they didn’t pay up.

But now – with nobody penalised under it – the blanket ban is set to be lifted by North Northamptonshire Council tomorrow (Thursday).

Labour’s Clark Mitchell, who first stood to be a councillor because he was outraged by the initial proposal, was over the moon.

The former skateboarder said: "This is the culmination of years of work and pressure to get this restriction dropped.

"I’ll volunteer to take a screwdriver and take the signs down myself.”

NNC’s executive committee will meet tomorrow to decide whether to extend and amend Kettering’s PSPO, which also covers activities including street drinking and begging, until July 2025.

The order is set to be amended so that people will now only be prohibited from misusing skateboards in a way that could cause nuisance, alarm or distress, rather than using skateboards full stop. Skateboarding, which made its Olympic debut last year, was the only wheeled sport to suffer from the blanket ban which was likened to ‘taking an AK-47 to stamp on a walnut’. The new ‘misuse’ rule has applied to bicycles and scooters for several years.

A consultation saw a huge backlash against the skateboarding ban, with many saying it should be removed. Kettering Town Council and Northamptonshire Police said it was ‘unduly restrictive’.

One consultation comment said: “I believe that not allowing people to ride a bike or skateboard within the town is the most ridiculous law Kettering has ever decided on.”

Travis Clayton, who owns Illicit Skate Shop at The Yards, has had to remind people not to ride their skateboard when they leave because they could get in trouble.

Two Kettering Conservatives spoke against the ban in 2016, branding it draconian. One, Steve Bellamy, was voted out of the group and later quit as a councillor.

The other, Michael Brown, was not kicked out but has since moved from the area and now sits as a Conservative on West Northamptonshire Council.

He said: “It is incredibly encouraging to see that North Northamptonshire Council have recognised the highly destructive practices and failures of the dying decade of KBC and are now seeking to show leadership and put things right.

“KBC failed to show leadership both at political and professional levels and it now falls on NNC to reverse that trend.

“Sadly great councillors were lost to the poor decisions of KBC’s failed leadership, such as Steve Bellamy, who stood up for the town when no-one else would.

“I congratulate all councillors who have taken part in this decision.”