WE have a feeling of dj-vu about youngsters' efforts to win a skateboard park in Worcester - though, this time, it's a welcome feeling.

Because, far from facing a forlorn fight for the facility, the youngsters are being asked where it should go and what it's like.

What a far cry from some stories we've reported in skateboarding's chequered Faithful City history.

In 1998, the city council threatened a group of 13-year-olds with court over a DIY ramp they'd built in a cul-de-sac.

It wasn't the brightest location, but we thought the reaction was heavy-handed, perhaps predictably so because, at the time, many folk thought the craze would pass.

There were also those who thought that, in proportion to the number engrossed by the sport, the cost of providing facilities couldn't be justified.

We didn't believe that then, and we don't believe it now.

Other towns and cities have discharged their responsibility towards their teenage residents and helped to elevate this part of Britain's youth culture in the eyes of the world.

Now, four years after the court threat - as part of Worcester Youth Strategy - we're delighted to see the city council's words of promise that they'd look for a skateboard site being turned into action.

The youth of our community have become used to hearing where they can't go.

We take our hat off to those adults who, finally, have had the common sense to ask them where they want to go, instead.