6 days ago
New skate park finally opens at Lota Park, Fishguard
The skate park at Lota Park, Fishguard, had its official opening on Wednesday, July 30.
The original opening date had to be delayed because of problems with tarmac at the site, including the fact that it had been walked onto the skate ramps by trespassers who breached the safety fencing.
(Image: The Lota Project) Now open, the skate park is getting a lot of use by children enjoying the sunshine and the summer holidays.
'Youngsters were queuing up to use the new skate park when it opened,' said Cllr Pat Davies who has been a stalwart of The Lota Project, a group dedicated to improving the park, since its inception.
'It's absolutely brilliant. All day long there's children there.'
(Image: The Lota Project) The new park includes a ledge, a quarter pipe and two fun box combinations which include a flat wedge and a grind rail.
It is the culmination of years of fundraising by The Lota Project, a group of dedicated volunteers who have raised funds to completely refurbish the park over the last decade.
The group has purchased new swings, a wheelchair inclusive roundabout, a new-style witch's hat and an arm rotator roundabout, a small basketball area and a teqball alongside a zipline, a large round swing, a gravity bowl, two new multi play installations, a new sea saw and springers.
(Image: The Lota Project) This has been made possible due to a mixture of fundraising, donations from groups, individuals, the town council and support from Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government.
Funding for the skatepark has come from a variety of sources including the Enhancing Pembrokeshire fund which is raised through the second home council tax premium.
The skate park was the last piece of refurbishment that The Lota Project wanted to complete. The four committee members will now retire but are happy to hand the fundraising over to anybody who has an interest in continuing to improve the park's facilities.
(Image: The Lota Project) 'This is the last thing we needed to do,' said Cllr Davies. 'We are glad to get it done in the school holidays so that the children aren't scootering or skateboarding around the town.
'Thank you to all those people and organisations locally that have helped fund the regeneration of the park.
'It's brilliant to see it getting so well used.'
For more information on the regeneration of the park, or if you are interested in continuing the fundraising work, search for The Lota Project on Facebook.
