Local councillors have welcomed the new skate park coming to Mackerston which will be a major boost for youth in the town.
A total of £100,000 was secured from Largs seafront car park funds towards the Largs Skaters Group, after a delegation addressed councillors at Largs Academy .
Cllr Alan Hill, Chair of the Locality Committee said, “Before Christmas I met with a number of the young people for an inspection of the existing facility. Council officers in attendance noted various problems with the condition of the facility which is basically time served. Largs Community Council has also been pressing for action in this area for a while now too.
“The local Skate Park Community have got themselves organised and will be working closely with officers to design and develop the new skatepark.”
The meeting heard from Lorn Geddes and Euan Clague who spoke on behalf of the young people present and watched a presentation of photographs taken by Lorn. They confirmed that the facility is used by a wide age range from 10 to 20+, both boys and girls who do skateboarding, scooters, inline skating, BMX and trials riding.
The young people see it as an accessible place for informal healthy outdoor activities and pointed out that there are few available facilities for teenagers in the Largs area.
After listening to the young people, the committee agreed to allocate up to £100k from the car park fund towards the cost of developing a new facility in Largs. The committee also agreed that officers would involve the young people in developing and designing the new skate park.
Commenting Cllr Hill added, “This project reflects many of the local priorities that we have been developing around our young people. The entire committee was very impressed at the presentation we received and the fact that there were around 15 young people present was testament to their desire to see some progress here. They were all a real credit to their families and to the local community.
“I am delighted that we have been able to support them and look forward to seeing the new skate park start to take shape.”