LETTER: Rowley Lake wake-boarding scheme should be scrapped

The facility requires two unsightly towers on either side of the lake, supporting a wire and installing whining operating machinery.

This will in no way benefit the deprived youth of Burnley and district. In other areas the charges are £19 per hour, double this for lessons. A joining fee is required. The wet suits are expensive - up to £350 for the premium Psycho Freak model (no comment!).

The construction noise, road widening and increased traffic would also be a nuisance. Most important of all is the disturbance to wildlife – birds, waterfowl, deer – the Angling Club put £7,000 of fish stock in the lake last year. They are hopping mad, as are residents who will have to put up with the inconvenience.

We can recall the diving pool at the Thompson Centre – built to Olympic standards but rarely used.

The children’s play park at Rowley soon became a drugs and drinking den, used by an anti-social element, then vandalised, as were the disabled toilets. The Friends of Rowley believe the facility would become a white elephant, ruining a well-used, well-loved, peaceful lake. A petition has already over 100 signatures. The Civic Trust is also opposed. Will the council understand the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits and the scheme should be rejected, if only on environmental grounds?

MRS JEAN WILSON