OVER half the money needed to buy ramps for the skateboard park in Malton and Norton has been secured.

Youth officer PC Stewart Ashton, who has led the campaign to bring a skate park to the twin towns, said grant aid and offers of help in kind now amounted to some £20,000.

The latest amounts included a grant of £1,500 from Norton Town Council and the approval, in principle, of £12,503 from the Single Regeneration Budget.

Now that the old Northern Electric site in Norton has been secured as a venue, the next stage, said PC Ashton, is to have a meeting with the youngsters who will be using the park so they can have a say in what they want and how they want it to run.

"I have measured up the site and I have sent a plan of the site down to Dorset to the ramp manufacturer asking them to draw up some designs which I will take to the meeting next month," said PC Ashton.

The meeting will be held in the Cyber Cafe in Malton on December 13 at 6pm. "At the meeting, I want to introduce myself and I'm hoping to resurrect the Malton and Norton X-treme Sports Group," said PC Ashton. "It is so they can be the guiding light."

He said they will then look at the designs and start making decisions on the types of ramps and what materials they should be made of.

He said the cost of ramps for the park is around £21,000, just under half of the £48,000 needed for the total project. "It's great news," he said. "We nearly have the money for the ramps, we are well over 50pc."

PC Ashton said that offers of help in kind are also warmly welcomed. He said that Malton-based sign-maker Raymac has agreed to donate the signage for the park.

Rosalind Court, of Raymac Signs, told the Gazette & Herald why she wanted to support the project.

"We are a local business and it's nice to support the local community," said Mrs Court. "There aren't very many facilities for the kids locally.

"The Cyber Cafe proved quite popular but they still need to be doing something out and about and it's a jolly good idea and something kids want."

Mrs Court also praised the work of PC Ashton. "He has worked tirelessly to try and find some premises," she said.

One outstanding cost which is not included in PC Ashton's £48,000 bid is the cash needed to resurface the Northern Electric site. A recent quote suggests this will cost around £7,000.

PC Ashton is hoping donations will help cover the cost but he wondered if a local business could offer such a service in kind. If you would like to make a donation or services in kind, contact PC Ashton on (01723) 509661.

Updated: 09:12 Thursday, November 22, 2001