BUILD a new £300,000 skatepark in Dunfermline Public Park and they'll come from miles around to use it.
That was the message to local councillors - who approved a request for more than £100,000 to help bridge the funding gap - and work is set to get underway early next year.
The City of Dunfermline area committee on Tuesday heard that the current facility is 20 years old and nearing the end of its life.
A design has been agreed and almost all of the funding is now in place, with capital project manager Louise Whyte telling councillors: "I've been involved with this project since 2021 and one thing I have learned is that skaters will travel, they will travel from all across the country, to skate a particular feature if it's available.
"Rory (Fell, of the skatepark group) has been absolutely key in making sure that Dunfermline has something to offer that's not available elsewhere that will draw people in."
Dunfermline Regeneration Trust, together with Rory and Fiona Simpson, are leading the project and phase one will develop a new skatepark covering approximately 1,000 square metres on the current footprint in the park, for skaters of all ages and abilities.
The construction budget is £300,000.
Skaters voted on which features they wanted the park to include, and the company Bendcrete produced a detailed plan after being awarded the tender from Fife Council.
A phase two is planned but there's no timescale as this would require further funding.
Ms Whyte's report said: "One of the biggest issues we face is raising sufficient funds to deliver a state-of-the-art skatepark for the city of Dunfermline and Fife.
"The Dunfermline skatepark group have raised £185,000 in external funding which is a fantastic achievement.
"However, to bring their aspirations to fruition they need significantly more."
Councillors agreed to use £30,369 of unallocated capital cash from 2017-19; £32,525 of the remaining budget that was previously allocated to Wellwood play area, and £18,871 of unused cash, both from the Improving Health through Leisure and Sport budget for Dunfermline; and £20,000 that was initially for a green gym in Duloch.
And the green gym didn't go ahead as the project was "not viable".
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A development guide suggests that for every 25,000 residents, you require a skatepark of around 900 square metres - the current one is 800sqm.
The aspiration for Dunfermline was to provide a facility close to 2,000sqm but the pandemic and soaring cost of materials like concrete and steel has led to a scaled back approach, for now anyway.
Ms Whyte said: "We had an aspiration for a tiered approach so, pie in the sky would be let's try to raise £1 million to deliver something that would take in that whole area, including the basketball and tennis courts.
"At this moment in time, given the financial situation that we're all in, that's probably not feasible.
"The second option was in the region of £500,000 so we had a bid in for play space funding, but unfortunately that was not successful.
"So we've had to draw back to this current aspiration where at least we can do something to improve the skatepark offering that will entice tourism and draw other skaters."
The area committee convener, Cllr James Calder, said: “With these funds now secured, Dunfermline is one step closer to providing its residents with a fantastic modern facility that will serve the community for years to come.
“Local skaters and community groups have long advocated for improvements to the skatepark, and this investment demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting youth engagement and healthy outdoor activities in our city.”
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