Users of a popular skatepark in Bury St Edmunds will get financial support from St Edmundsbury Borough Council to match their ambitious fundraising efforts.
And the council is calling on other local public and private sector organisations to back the project which needs £300,000 to be fully completed. Around 250 young people from across the town and wider borough area use the skatepark at weekends and during school holidays.
Cllr Robert Everitt, Cabinet member for Bury St Edmunds matters and young people, said: "I am very happy that we will be investing in such a popular facility which is enjoyed by a huge number of young people. I am incredibly impressed by the way the users are all working together to raise funds and St Edmundsbury will be looking to match what they raise."
The council, which will help to finance up to half of the estimated cost of the project from its asset management plan, will support the Bury Skate Park Experience group applications for grants from a range of local and national organisations. The original wooden structure – state of the art when it was built in 1999 – will be replaced by low-maintenance concrete, and the users have already been involved in planning the designs for the improved facilities.
It is expected that the skatepark, in Olding Road, will close over the winter to allow for demolition, with work on the new one starting in 2013.
