BUILDING work has still not begun four years after proposals were made for a skate park in West Swindon, as the parties involved haggle over its cost.

A £60,000 budget has been earmarked for the new facility since the first plans were shown to residents close to Saltway Fields.

More than 80 formal objections were lodged at the time, prompting a consultation into three alternative sites.

An area of open space in Rivermead behind the Renault Spectrum building was chosen and there were hopes it would be completed by last summer.

Since then, protracted negotiations have been taking place with construction company Wheelscape over the estimated cost of realising the plans.

There are hopes a start date will soon be set and the park may be completed by summer.

Coun Nick Martin, (Con, Shaw), said everyone involved was keen to get the project moving as fast as possible.

“Councillors in West Swindon have wanted to see a skate park facility for local young people for many years,” he said.

“We successfully secured a budget of £60,000 and, following a local consultation, Rivermead was seen as the best option and was chosen early last year.

“Since then we have gone through the procurement process with a company called Wheelscape to get a start date for the build.”

The skate park is projected to cost around £500 a year to maintain. A section 106 agreement with Aldi, which is working on a new supermarket in Westlea, could see a slice of more than £70,000 go towards the facility.

“What concerns me is there seems to be some haggling over the skate park,” said Coun Martin.

“They (Wheelscape) have been in communication with us for the best part of a year, and there has been some discussion over the price they are asking for, which is materially different.

“There is around a 25 per cent difference between the parties.

“We want to get this facility developed but it is not as straightforward as we would have hoped. I was approached a long time ago by local youngsters wanting a skate park in their area, and many of them will have beards by now.

“This facility will always be of interest, and since then we have put in some serious money to improve the five-a-side and basketball courts at Saltway.”

Kevin Fisher, chairman of the Shaw Resident’s Association, said: “We are very supportive of the skate park in the right location, and Rivermead is the right location.

“It is very frustrating that it has taken so long.”

Matthew Brever, of the ATB Skate Warehouse, said: “Hopefully when they get started and get on with it it won’t take too long before it is ready to go.

“It will be an amazing thing once it is done, and a lot of kids are itching to get this moving. Something like this could bring people from other places into the area, because if you build it people will travel to get to it. It’s going to benefit the whole area.”