AN all-action skate park looks set to take shape as part of the plans to develop a town piazza close to the centre of Accrington.

The proposed £25,000 park at St James Square, behind the Communicare building, would boast a network of steel ramps for skate boarding, street skating and BMX biking. And teenagers pressing for a skate park in the borough will have an input into the final design of features such as jump boxes and launch ramps, which mimic street furniture like kerbs and steps. A group of 15 young people are off to Yorkshire this weekend to meet up with Puberty Designs who run Rehab, an indoor skate park in Wakefield, to chat over design ideas.

Hyndburn Council's assistant parks and open spaces officer, Karen Roach, said: "For the last 18 months I have had a number of young people asking for skate park facilities but the problems are lack of money and a suitable site. "Because of the nature of the sport it's quite noisy and has to be away from houses but we don't want it to be isolated.

"It's only going to be a small site but the square is an ideal spot because it is going to be well lit, covered by CCTV and has easy access." She said the landscaped skate park would need to fit in with the rest of the square, where there are proposals for feature fountains, and one idea was to design art work into the perimeter fencing.

As well as securing European cash, the council is seeking funding from English Partnerships.

Karen said the young people themselves would be looking to raise money through sponsorship from local companies and industry, as well as applying for grant help.

She added: "We want to give them a sense of ownership and a feeling they have played a real part in getting this off the ground.

"They are all really keen to get stuck in."

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