CONSTRUCTION of a town’s long-awaited skate park is expected to start this summer after planning permission was approved.

Spennymoor Town Council has secured consent from Durham County Council to build the £150,000 facility in Jubilee Park, near the Carr Lane entrance.

The town council consulted with young people to develop plans and worked with Spennymoor Area Action Partnership to secure funding.

The council will put in £50,000, there will be £31,000 of section 106 money and £40,000 will come from the AAP. Durham County Councillors Ian Geldard, Neil Foster, Barbara Graham, Pat Lawton and Kevin Thompson also pledged neighbourhood budget towards the project.

An existing football pitch, currently used by two pub teams, will be moved 10m to the east to make way for the new skate park and a condition of the approval is that the new pitch is of the FA’s pitch quality standard.

The council’s agent said the facility will provide a place for young people to develop in a risk environment, improve fitness and have fun.

It will be floodlit and made of concrete, which will be quieter than wood or metal, and will include bowls, ramps and street features suitable for BMX bikes, skateboards, scooters and inline blades.

A 1.8m high, 4m long graffiti wall will be installed alongside the skate park as part of the overall scheme.

Spennymoor Town Council Leader, Cllr Ian Geldard, said: “We are excited to get planning permission through and looking forward to getting diggers in the park in the next couple of months.

“I’m sure once it is built young people will enjoy using it.”