Skate park included in £240k revamp plan
A new skate park will be created as part of a £240,000 revamp of Willenhall Memorial Park, it was announced today.
There has been a long-running campaign, spearheaded by a group of teenagers, to get better skating facilities in the park. The work has been included in Walsall Council's list of projects within its proposed budget. Funding of £180,000 for landscaping work, including the creation of the skate park, has been allocated for the next financial year.
There will then be a further £60,000 the year after. Councillor Sean Coughlan, from the Friends of Willenhall Memorial Park, today welcomed the news.
"This is fantastic for the Friends group and even more fantastic for the young people in Willenhall whose project this is," he said.
"They have brought this idea to the Friends group and done a lot of work coming up with the ideas.
"It's also fantastic news for Walsall in the sense that if it's put in place, it will be a regional skate park and will attract youngsters from across the Black Country."
It is hoped the new skate park would be created where the current one is, close to the tennis courts at the Pinson Road entrance.
Councillor Coughlan said designs for it have been drawn up. "I think what we need to do now is sit down and talk about the maintenance of it," he added. "We had long been campaigning for the money from the sale of Willenhall Leisure Centre to be put back into the town so this investment would be great news."
Money allocated in the draft budget will also include improved pedestrian and vehicle access as well as a revamp of pathways.
