YOUNG people in Felixstowe are today being urged to get fundraising - and help find £55,000 for their skatepark.They are being told to come up with ideas and events to generate as much of the cash as possible.

YOUNG people in Felixstowe are today being urged to get fundraising - and help find £55,000 for their skatepark.

They are being told to come up with ideas and events to generate as much of the cash as possible.

Leisure chiefs are looking at possible sources for grant aid, but they say this is more likely to be forthcoming if the youngsters show they are committed to the scheme and prepared to help.

Suffolk Coastal cabinet member Rae Leighton said: “It is great news that we now have an agreed site for Felixstowe's first skatepark but to take it off the drawing boards and into reality will need young people to play their part.

“The total cost of getting the skatepark in place is £140,000 and to date £85,000 of that has been set aside but that still leaves a significant amount of funding to be found.

“This council will be working closely with local groups to help find the rest of the money but for the project to succeed we need a concerted and united effort by the community, particularly young people, to successfully bridge the gap.”

Felixstowe Town Council is giving £30,000, while Suffolk Coastal's cabinet has agreed to put in £15,000, and a further £40,000 has been set aside from the council's playspace fund, generated from applicants carrying out housing developments in the town.

The 20m by 30m skateboard/BMX area will be built on Orwell Green, Grange Farm Avenue.

It will be 1.2 metres below ground level, with a landscape bund on three sides to help reduce noise and visual impact. There will be floodlighting until 8.30pm and CCTV.

Mr Leighton said: “There are no doubts there is a demand for such a facility in Felixstowe and I believe we have now found the best possible location for it.

“Clearly there will need to be a close eye kept on this facility when it opens.

“We have been working closely with the police on this project, and they will play an active role in its first few weeks. The proposed ban on drinking alcohol in some parts of Felixstowe will include the skatepark and is an important additional power to help police its use.”

Any young person, or community group, that wants to become involved in the skatepark project should contact Joe Liggett at Suffolk Coastal on 01394 444318.

Do you think Orwell Green is the best place for the skatepark? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk