Work yet to start on skate ramps revamp

AN IMPROVED  skatepark is still a pipe dream for Melksham for the time being, as work has still not begun, despite young people being told it would happen ‘straight away’ in March.

Young skateboards in Melksham were told they would have a refurbished skatepark by autumn this year. The ramps at King George V park are popular and are used to hold competitions, including one run by local professional skateboarder James Threlfall.

Wiltshire Council has said it will replace the current wooden ramps with concrete ramps, which  should last for 40 years.

A March area board meeting about the campus was attended by an unusual ly high number of young people, and Wiltshire Council officers assured them work would start ‘straight away.’

However, no work has been done yet and a Wiltshire Council spokesperson told Melksham News, “We are currently working with representatives of the skate park to develop a detailed brief and are developing the procurement strategy. When we have a contractor in place, we will be able to confirm likely start and completion dates.”

The project has been years in the making and is included in the development of a new health and wellbeing centre for the town.

In October 2013 chairman of Melksham Area Board, councillor Jonathon Seed, said he was hopeful the skatepark would be refurbished within a year.

Town councillor Jon Hubbard, who leads the town council’s campus group, said he had expected the work to be done this year, but that he had not been told when it would begin.