Local skaters target indoor park

Shrewsbury Sports Village opened in 2006 at a cost of £10m

Shropshire's skateboarders are campaigning for the creation of an indoor facility after the closure of Shrewsbury's Monkmoor Skate Park.

Commissioned in 2004, the Monkmoor park was refurbished by Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council in 2008 at a cost of over £30,000.

The new Shropshire Council closed the skate park after it failed to meet health and safety standards.

Monkmoor is one of four skate parks in Shrewsbury.

Assistant Director for Culture and Leisure George Candler said that Shropshire Council would seek expert advice on the repair of the Monkmoor park, but it would remain, "closed for the foreseeable future".

Wood-surfaced ramps like Monkmoor's have been largely replaced by concrete facilites, similar to the one at Shrewsbury Sports Village in Sundorne, less than a mile away.

In 2008 £30,000 was spent on refurbishing Monkmoor Skate Park

Despite its proximity, skaters at the Sports Village claim it is often overcrowded and too small for the number of young people who want to use it.

Nineteen-year-old Nick Ellis also questioned the logic of investing yet more money in an outdoor skate park at Monkmoor when the weather and early evenings limit its use for much of the year.

Twenty-one-year-old Peter Gater believed Shrewsbury's skate parks had helped keep young people off the streets and allow different age groups to mix together, sharing a common passion.

Mr Gater suggested an indoor skate park would be popular, "One of the big problems skaters have is the rain, because it will wreck the bearings and the board."

Campaigners believe an old B&Q store could be turned into an indoor park

Campaigners also believe that an indoor skate park could prove economical in the long term, making it easier to prevent vandalism, as well as attracting greater use.

Local skaters and BMX riders are hoping to persuade Shropshire Council to consider the site the old B&Q store on Brixton Way as a possible option.