AROUND £50,000 still needs to be found to build a skatepark for the youngsters of Woodbridge.The £130,000 scheme already has planning permission - and so far £79,000 has been pledged.

AROUND £50,000 still needs to be found to build a skatepark for the youngsters of Woodbridge.

The £130,000 scheme already has planning permission - and so far £79,000 has been pledged.

Now the Woodbridge SkatePark Project Partnership is asking the community to help it find the rest to turn into reality the long-term dream of a facility for the riverside town's young people.

The partnership is writing to more than 200 businesses asking for sponsorship, as well as seeking grants from the National Lottery and the Suffolk Environmental Trust.

“It is important for Woodbridge that we deliver this project as soon as possible,” said county councillor Ben Redsell, chairman of the partnership.

“After years of planning we are now at the stage of do or die. Either we raise the money soon, or we will simply have to walk away as the town council's financial commitment is only on offer until August next year.”

The partnership is made up of Woodbridge Town Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council and youth group Just 42.

The proposal has already been promised £20,000 from the Woodbridge and Melton Market Towns Initiative, £15,000 from Suffolk Coastal, £10,000 from Suffolk County Council, £9,000 from Woodbridge Town Council, £6,600 from the Crime and

Disorder Reduction Partnership and £5,000 from the Community Council, plus many smaller grants, while the area's young people have raised several hundred pounds over the years.