Published: Friday, 21st November, 2008 8:30am

Kids in bid for skate park

A TEAM of youngsters fed up with hanging around the streets of Gullane is spearheading a campaign for a skatepark in the village.

The seven teens, who all live in either Gullane or the surrounding villages of Aberlady and Dirleton, will spend the next months in talks with East Lothian Council officials before pursuing funding for their ambitious project.

The campaign has already won the support of community wardens and Gullane Area Community Council (GACC) - whose members received a presentation on the youngsters" plans.

Gullane teenager Ryan Williamson, aged 13, is one of the youngsters involved in pushing the project forward.

He told the Courier: 'We didn"t have anything to do and we kept getting in trouble with the police for loitering and stuff like that so we decided that we had to get something organised.

'Apart from Gullane Youth Club, which meets for a couple of hours once a week, there is absolutely nothing for young people to do in the area.'

The success of skateparks launched in other county towns, including North Berwick and Port Seton, had, he said, inspired the group"s project.

'And we decided a skatepark would be the best idea because we all enjoying riding our bikes and that would give us the perfect place to do that,' he said.

'But we want ours to be unique and different from others we"ve seen.'

George Fraser, GACC chairman, confirmed that the community council would consider making a financial contribution to the project once further details, such as where it would be sited in the village, had been finalised.

He added: 'It was a very impressive presentation and they had clearly carried out a lot of research.'

Community warden Suzette McGregor is working with the youngsters, who all attend North Berwick High School, to realise their dream.

She said: 'We are still in the very early stages of the project. They"ve worked really hard and have proven that they are willing to do anything to raise the funds required, as it is going to be a very expensive project.'

The group has estimated the cost of erecting the skatepark at around £75,000.

Added Ryan: 'We definitely want to get things moving as quickly as possible. Ideally that would mean looking for funding in the next couple of months.'

A possible location could be the grassy area next to the primary school.