Whitchurch to finally get skate park

Funding has now been put in place to build the long-awaited skate park in Whitchurch with plans to start over the coming months.

Shropshire Council has announced that funds are now in place to start the next phase of the project, which will see consultants draw up a specification before a tender is put out for the work.

A contractor will then be selected to build the park, costing about £70,000, with hopes that the site will be started in summer and take about six to eight weeks to build.

Sean McCarthy, Shropshire Council’s sports development officer, said: “This is fantastic news, and something that is long overdue for a town the size of Whitchurch.

"The working group have worked tirelessly over the past couple of years to get the funding in place.

"I know this is something the people of Whitchurch have wanted for a long time and it’s good to see that all that work has now paid off and Whitchurch will finally get a skate park.

"It’s great that so many people want to get involved with skateboarding and BMXing, and I can only see this interest increasing given that they are both Olympic sports.”

According to Shropshire Council, funding has now been secured from the council, Whitchurch Town Council, Next Generation Youth, and Twemlows solar farm.

Councillor Gerald Dakin, who has worked on bringing the park to the town alongside Shropshire Council officers Nicki Young and Sean McCarthy, said he was thrilled with the news.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Shropshire Council have given us the money to build a skate park and not before time too.

“I’m pleased because we have been working towards the completion of this and we’re at the final hurdle, which is always the money. We can start building now.

“I hope it will be in place by the end of summer. We have the money, we have the permission from the council to get started, and we have the plans in place.

“I want to say thank you to Nicki Young and Sean McCarthy as they have both done so much of this work and have driven this project forward.”

Meanwhile, in Market Drayton, work has started on the town's new skate park after a successful bid for £75,000 of funding.

The current skate park, which is close to the swimming pool, is being replaced with a larger open plan site.