Lottery bid for new Market Drayton skate park

The town's current skate park, which is close to the swimming pool, will either be closed and replaced with a larger open plan site or extended as part of the development.

At a meeting of Market Drayton Town Council, members agreed to put in a bid to the lottery for a grant for the skate park.

The town council has pledged £80,000 towards the scheme and is now bidding for another £75,000 from other sources.

Julie Jones, Market Drayton Town Council clerk, said: "We had a great response to the survey about the skate park.

"We had about 160 questionnaires filled in.

"Out of those 80 per cent wanted to see a larger skate board park in the town.

"So we have now put a bid in to get a grant. We have money set aside for the work but any grant would be a big help.

"We will hear back in April if we are successful and go from there. It is hoped that building will be started by the summer of this year."

Last month it was announced that a £70,000 skate park in Whitchurch could finally be built more than nine years after the idea was first put forward.

Plans for the skating area, earmarked to be built near Jubilee Park in Whitchurch, have been supported by Whitchurch Town Council.

Stephen Platt, town clerk, said the next steps for the town council were to apply for funding.

He said they hoped to start building the skate park in June next year ready to open it to the public at the end of August.

About £16,000 of the cost of the skate park is to be met from a fund set aside by members of the Next Generation Youth group, which wanted to develop a skate park on the site nine years ago.

The idea of providing a skate park for youngsters in the town has rumbled on for several years, but has always hit problems.

Previous plans for a skate park on Jubilee Park and at Sir John Talbot's Technology College foundered, leaving youngsters disappointed and disillusions about the scheme ever happening.

Also discussed at Market Drayton town council was the moving of one of the town's public bench.

Ms Jones added: "The current public bench outside the town hall is causing some issues.

"The smoke from people who sit on it is getting into the reception of the town hall which is not very nice so we wanted to re-locate it.

"Councillors voted to move the bench to outside the indoor market."