Ledbury Town Council hopes to open a £60,000 skateboard park on the recreation ground by the summer holidays.

Councillors met on Monday for an informal discussion over three proposed layouts for the site.

Yesterday evening (Thursday), the town's environment and leisure committee was scheduled to discuss the options further, though a final decision will not be made until the next full council meeting on March 27.

The favoured option is likely to be a park with a number of smaller ramps and pipes, instead of a few larger items, so that more young people will be able to make use of the facilities.

Town mayor Noel Roberts said: "We decided we would go forward with a skateboard park a while ago, but we haven't yet decided on a format. I've never been skateboarding, so I'm a bit in the dark about what everything is."

The drive to get a new skateboard park for Ledbury started in the autumn of 2001, when 35 youngsters put together a petition calling for better facilities.

The projected cost then was £30,000 but town clerk June McQuaid said the £60,000 now earmarked covered everything, including safety equipment and railings.

The town council has already resolved to find the necessary funding.

Mrs McQuaid said: "An area has been set aside for the purpose. The existing children's play area is to be extended."

She said that the park could be open by the summer, certainly in time for the next summer holidays.