Green light to skate park plan

Councillors met on Wednesday to approve funding and have already appointed Urban Ramps to undertake the refurbishment and a working group has been finalising the scheme.

According to clerk, Kevin Martin, the cost of the work is around £123,910 with further costs of £800 expected to move two floodlights to accommodate an extension of about 5m to the current skate park. A bandstand shelter may also have to be moved to provide somwhere for those watching the skaters.

The council has been saving up for the last five years and been working on this project for the last three. Originally they had planned to replace the old ramps which were corroding badly but then found they could do something better.

Mr Martin told The Standard: “It is a complete refurbishment and extension. It is bigger with more ramps and laid out in a way to benefit the range of ages and experience, so there are less demanding areas for younger ones that will not conflict with older, more experienced users. We have BMX riders, in-line skaters and skateboarders all using it so we are trying to spread them out to appeal to all.”

Work will start in the new year. He said: “A new tarmac surface needs to be laid so there may be a period when the skatepark is unavailable, but we are hoping to get it done and dusted by the end of March.”

The surface will be specially powder coated to give the feeling of riding on concrete.

He said the working group has been regularly consulting with the park users to get the best possible design.

Mr Martin said: “I am sure it will be a flag ship park for Sleaford and the surrounding area and draw in users from further afield.”

Coun Gary Titmus, from the working group, has been passionate about getting better facilities for the town’s growing youth population and said up to 100 can be found using the ramps on a good day.

He said: “We have had the potential users down to the Town Hall on two or three occasions to look at the plans and they were certainly enthusiastic, while we and the contractors have been to meet informally with them on a dozen occasions at the park.

“We have incorporated a lot of their ideas.”

It is also proposed to invite young people to decorate the ramps to discourage offensive graffiti.

Security will be improved after four CCTV cameras were installed recently in the recreation ground using money from housing developers. Two more cameras will be installed on a 6m column overlooking the skatepark at a cost of nearly £800.