Lottery cash could be huge leap forward in creating skatepark

Group given £10,000 to help carry out consultation

National Lottery funding could help make long-held dreams of creating a skatepark in Bankfoot a reality.

The village’s youth group has been awarded £10,000 to help its members carry out consultation.

It is hoped that will prove positive, helping the group press ahead with a major fundraising campaign in the New Year.

There are 10 purpose-built skateparks across the Perth and Kinross area, with the free facilities created thanks to partnerships between the council and local groups.

Each caters for skateboarders, inline skaters and BMX riders and the sites, including one at Perth’s Lesser South Inch, have proved popular.

Bankfoot Youth Group’s Kerrie Boath has been part of the team behind the plan to create the village’s own facility for some years.

She welcomed the lottery funding, saying: “We are most grateful to Awards for All for providing the funding for a feasibility study.

“This is something the community has been looking to create for several years and it’s a huge step forward in bring it closer to delivery.

“We really need the whole community to get behind this and we’ll be issuing a short survey soon to gather evidence of need and community support.

“The feasibility study should be complete by April then we’re on a quest to find the funding to build it.”

Anyone who would like to show their support or comment can email kerrieboath@hotmail.co.uk to receive a link to the survey.

Detailed plans for a skatepark were last submitted to Perth and Kinross Council in 2015, when the proposal for the Coronation Park came with a £166,000 price tag.

Strathtay Conservative Councillor Anne Jarvis is among those backing the project, which she believes would be a welcome addition to the village.

She said: “The skateboard group has a site identified. It has done well to raise the funding for their feasibility study.

“This is a project I fully support and, if successful, one which will help local youngsters take part in an active sporting activity.

“I commend the group’s initiative and, if they get their full funding later, I believe it will be a valuable facility for the young people and the wider community.”

I believe it will be a valuable facility for the young people. ANNE JARVIS

Picture: Angus Findlay. The Perth skatepark at the Lesser South Inch, which youngsters in Bankfoot now want to recreate in their village.