MORE than �5,000 will be spent on repairs to a small skatepark in Portishead.
The town council authorised the expenditure after safety reports highlighted that a spine ramp at the Merlin Park facility is in a poor state of repair. After excessive use throughout the summer, the report states the ramp is not expected to last much longer.
A replacement has been ordered and is expected to be installed within weeks.
The park which cost �12,000 to install and opened in 2003 is popular with younger skaters but does not provide sufficient space or challenges for older teenagers.
After years of searching for a suitable site, the Portishead Skatepark Project is currently waiting to hear a final verdict on its application for landlord’s consent from North Somerset Council, to allow it to build a bigger park at the town’s Lake Grounds.
Suggestions to expand the Merlin Park facility to accommodate more experienced users have been dismissed after residents said they were assured the site would not be expanded in future years, when planning permission was originally granted almost a decade ago.
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