'Successful' meeting with public to discuss potential for new bike track on Wellingborough's Queensway estate as public share their thoughts
A meeting at St Mark’s Church in Queensway, Wellingborough on June 3 saw people sharing their questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for a new bike track on the estate.
Following a call for volunteers to help manage the potential new facility, the meeting was attended by residents, motorbike enthusiasts and local councillors, with organisers praising it as ‘a real success’.
The meeting sought people to offer their services by forming a committee to oversee the running of the facility just off Park Farm Road, Wellingborough, and shape how it is to be developed.
That committee would consist of youth and adult community members, as well as police, and relevant members of North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) to act in an advisory role.
Paul Cunningham, one of the directors of Together Connect CIC which is heading up the project, said: “It’s been a real good turn-out, everything has been positive, there’s been no negativity in the room.
“All the questions we’ve been asked are the sort of questions you’d expect. It’s three years in the making, and I think it’s been a real success.”
At the 90-minute long drop-in session, people were segmented into groups to discuss the proposal and how it would affect them, while also coming up with ideas as to how it can be a viable venture.
One man from Little Billing, Northampton attended with his daughter, and often has to travel as far as Washbrook Farm near March in Cambridgeshire. He was ‘excited’ by the prospect of a track closer to home.
He said: “As good as those tracks are, it's a pain to drive to them. We’re excited by it, it’s definitely do-able. It’s going to be worthwhile.
"But, if they are going to build this for kids then the maintenance has to be taken care of.”
Their concerns related to the practical application of the track, noting that some of the corners that are already present are too narrow, and intersect too closely with other parts of the track. They also mentioned that there would have to be a dedicated, ability-based booking system and several marshalls dotted around the track when it’s in use.
Jo Peploe, centre manager at Glamis Hall, attended the meeting and alongside her peers highlighted the safeguarding, anti-social behaviour, and its long-term success of the venture as key concerns.
She said: “We want something long-term embedded in the community.
"What kids want is to be safe, and have something to do. We’re not against it, but it’s not a solution to getting all of the bikes off of the parks, as those using them for drug running will continue to do so.’”
The Plan
The idea was formed in the aftermath of the tragic murder of Dylan Holiday in August 2021, and an initial proposal was created in January 2022 to turn the disused bike track into a community facility ‘to encourage the
younger generation to have a space of their own’.
It was thought that a structured place to channel young people’s interest in motorbikes, something that was dear to Dylan, would help to harness that hobby in a safe environment, which would also reduce the nuisance these bikes cause to residents in the area.
Dee Holliday, Dylan’s mother, attended the meeting on Monday, and has since been welcomed as a director on the project.
A passage from the project document from November 2023 reads: “Whereas the project is aimed at the whole community, the idea is for it to be a lasting legacy to Dylan Holliday, and the plan would be for there to be an annual competition with this in mind, such as the Dylan Holliday Memorial Trophy, for example.
“The idea is for the track to be run by the community, hence why we want the community to be involved from day one.
“From experience, projects such as this are better run by independent communities, as there is always risk that any project that relies on public funding can be curtailed or face funding cuts, should other priorities come along. “This is the same reason why I wanted the project to be completely neutral of any political party.”
The proposed facility would be a multi-user friendly track, where both the off-road motorbikes and BMX/push bikes would have access to it, albeit at different times.
It also hopes to inspire people to take care of their bike, and learn skills such as essential maintenance and basic repairs, which could then, for example, potentially kickstart a curiosity in mechanics.
Alongside the appeal for committee members, the group is keen to accept donations to help it get off the ground. These do not necessarily have to be financial, as the project will be in need of any resources that will help towards the ultimate goal of opening the bike track ‘hopefully in the summer’, though this is not confirmed.
After a committee has been established, the next step would be to organise a site visit with the likes of Northamptonshire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service, NNC, and ‘any other relevant bodies’.
This would then establish the work that needs to be done to turn the area around and make a new facility viable. After this, a further public consultation would be proposed, culminating in a business plan detailing all of the necessary steps, from construction, to opening.