A LONG-AWAITED skate-park project in Woodbridge looks set to get the go-ahead – but could lose out on £5,000 if it is built too close to the community centre.

A LONG-AWAITED skate-park project in Woodbridge looks set to get the go-ahead - but could lose out on £5,000 if it is built too close to the community centre.

The overall cost of the skatepark, planned for the coach park area at the back of the Deben swimming pool, is expected to be around £70,000. Funding will be made up by a combination of grants and contributions from local organisations.

Woodbridge community council had pledged to donate £5,000 towards it but, having seen the plans, feel the proposed location would disturb Community Hall users and, if given the go-ahead, would force them to reconsider their offer of funding.

The community council said they were originally told the skatepark would be 50m away from the community hall, but on the planning application it is less than two metres away.

In a letter to planners they say they are fully in support of a skatepark, but in a more suitable location.

Suffolk coastal district council's leisure services manager has defended the plans. His report to planners explains that if the skatepark was located further from the community centre it would mean there would be more noise nuisance for people living in Deben View and Tanyard Court.

Consultation with the community has shown that the police, Woodbridge town council and many local authorities fully support the plans.

A spokesman for Suffolk coastal council said: "If some of the funding is withdrawn but the project is approved by planners it will still go ahead. It may be on a slightly smaller scale but it certainly won't mean the end of the project full stop."

The facility would be open from 9am to 8pm six days a week and from 9am to 5pm on Sunday.

Planning officers are recommending that the application be approved at a meeting of Suffolk coastal's development control sub-committee on Thursday. N. Do you think this is the best place for a skate park? Are you campaigning to get a similar thing in your town or village? Write in to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk or visit the forum at www.eveningstar.co.uk