WORKS are set to begin on the £178,000 improvements to the Melksham Skate Park stage of the Campus plans, with the renovation expected to take up to 14 weeks.

The skate park, in Lowbourne, is going to be replaced by Wiltshire Council as part of its health and wellbeing programme and will provide skaters with a modern and long lasting facility. Work is expected to take 14 weeks to complete and during that time the skate park will be unavailable to use.

James Threfall, 23, a professional skater who has been heavily involved in the project, said: “The skate park in Melksham has been incredibly well used since its opening, providing a space for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in action sports. I was 12 when I began skating, at which point I was lucky enough that the current facility was already open so I spent virtually every day there. A huge amount is owed to those that campaigned so hard for the original park to be built.”

The improvements have caused excitement with local skaters, including Mr Threfall, who all look forward to making use of the newly designed area.

“Having received years of heavy use, it's great to be able to build an incredible new skate park for the future generations to use. With the new park being built out of concrete, this will also last decades longer than the current Melksham skate park ramps, and I believe our planned design will create one of the best skate parks in the country,” Mr Threfall added.

The new skate park is continuing the development of Melksham and will join Oakfields Stadium and the improved Market Place in the Melksham Campus scheme. As well as the skate park, the new cricket pavilion and a new health and wellbeing centre on the Melksham House site are in the pipeline.

Wiltshire Council corporate director, Carlton Brand said: “We are pleased that work will start next week to deliver this much needed new facility. We know it will be extremely popular and we have listened to local people and skaters in planning and designing the new park.

“The provision of the new skate park is part of the council’s programme to invest in community facilities across the county.”

The Melksham Campus plans, which were first discussed in 2010, will see the town given £23million of improvements and is expected to be completed by 2019 even though it has been met with a number of setbacks.