Skaterham, the skateboarding, blading and BMX club run by the CR3 Youth Project, is moving from the former gym buildings at The Village, Caterham-on-the-Hill, to the site's former chapel.

The facility will open at the new location on Saturday, March 9, 2002 after work at the chapel has been completed. The move has been sponsored by Linden Homes.

Marilyn Payne, project co-ordinator and treasurer of the CR3 Youth Project, has expressed her gratitude to Linden Homes, saying: "We are delighted that Linden Homes is continuing to sponsor Skaterham, not only financially but with assistance in storage, communications and future planning for this unique project."

Skaterham was opened in July 1999 at The Village, growing out of a youth conference sponsored by Linden Homes in 1998 when planning The Village development.

The young people involved indicated that they would like to have a skateboarding, blading and BMX area.

Originally planned as an outdoor area, Linden Homes offered the present accommodation, two former army gymnasiums within the Caterham Barracks site, for year-round use.

Linden also sponsored ramps, the design of which was decided by the young people themselves with an expert advising on their construction.

With the gyms now scheduled for refurbishment as an arts and recreation centre, Skaterham will be moving temporarily to the former chapel while a permanent facility is constructed on the site.

The facility is run as a club with two first-aid qualified youth workers paid to attend each session. There are now over 4500 members, some of whom come from as far away as West Sussex and London.

Each session is also supervised by at least five volunteers.

The current hours of opening can be found on the Skaterham website (see below).

December 27, 2001 08:30