I thought that might be the case Dog (that and stopping the odd wally from flying a kite there - which I've seen at least once!).
But the druggies and yokels weren't the only people who used that space - the locals used to be able to walk their dogs and let the kids play there while watching the aircraft fly overhead. I've seen many anklebiters running around there pretending they are aircraft (and I'm sure more than one or two over the years have become pilots). And it was great to watch other people stuff up landings in a cross wind - it always made me feel that I wasn't so bad a pilot after all.
Why not use a gate to shut off the area at night and leave the local community free to use the space during the day? You can't expect the local community to support the airport if they are shut off from it. And the miniscule spaces that are left are NOT the same.
