THE seven-month wait to renovate a skatepark in Melksham looks set to continue, despite youngsters being told it would start straight away back in March.

Skateboard enthusiasts were told by Wiltshire Council at an area board meeting that they would have a refurbished skatepark at the King George V Park by autumn this year.

The proposed work involves replacing the current wooden ramps with concrete ones, which should last for four decades.

Despite these promises, no work has been completed yet and no date has been set as to when the works will begin.

“All of this is a bit of a joke. What the hell is going on? They promised it would be started in March and we are now in September,” said town councillor Jon Hubbard, who leads the town council’s campus group and runs Young Melksham.

“A dozen or so people at the youth club who use the skatepark are getting fed up at the delay.

“Melksham Town Council were told to get behind this quickly over a year ago so they could move ahead with this, and look where we are now,: nowhere.

“It is a hugely popular attraction, used by well over 100 people, and this is simply not good enough.”

The project has been part of the delayed plans to build a new health and wellbeing centre for the town, which has still not been delivered.

“We have been kept in the dark on this. Wiltshire Council have never talked to us about this, it is really concerning,” said Cllr Hubbard.

“Wiltshire Council have a frighteningly awful record in delivering the Melksham campus. People lose faith when all you get is empty promises.

“If they had said it would happen next year, then people would understand that, but nobody can understand why the delays have gone on for so long.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to this skatepark. Since February we have been working on the design with local people - including skateboarder James Threlfall - and will continue to do so.

“As part of the tender process, contractors will come up with concepts which will then be evaluated by local representatives.

“We hope to be able to inform people of an initial timescale soon after next week’s project meeting.”