A possible new site for a skatepark in Portishead is to be investigated by the town council.

The authority will write to the owners of a piece of land originally earmarked for the town’s new railway station to ask whether they would be willing to consider allowing a new, permanent skatepark to be created at the site or whether they would consider selling or letting the land for such a use.

The land is off Harbour Road and away from residential properties, leading councillors to recommend it as an ideal site for such a facility.

This comes after it was confirmed last month that a new station will in fact be built between Harbour Road and Quays Avenue, leaving the earmarked plot, which is owned by developers Crest Nicholson and Persimmon, surplus to requirements.

For years campaigners in Portishead have been calling for a new skatepark to be created to provide an extra facility for the town’s youth.

In 2011, planning permission was granted for a concrete park to be built at the Lake Grounds but North Somerset Council, which owns the land, refused to give landlord’s consent for the development. The planning permission has since expired.

Since then a number of alternative sites have been suggested but nothing has come to fruition.

At a meeting of the town council’s recreation and works committee on March 25, a majority of members recommended the town council investigates the possibility of a skatepark being created at the site set aside for the station.

While most councillors backed the idea, some felt the work should be carried out by members of campaign group Portishead Skatepark Project to prevent people assuming the town council could pay for such a project.

At the meeting Cllr Ros Cruse also explained the council had previously suggested the land for a skatepark but then portacabins were placed on the site by Harbourside Medical Practice before investigations could take place.

A a meeting of the full town council on April 8 it was agreed that the land owners should be contacted.