The construction of a skatepark for Shetland has got a little bit closer after the project got a cash boost of £62,000.

The Shetland Skatepark Association got the money from the Shetland LEADER fund, ten years in to its bid to construct an extreme sports venue with ramps for skateboarding, BMXing and rollerblading.

It was approved by the Shetland Local Action Group last Thursday and follows the Council reaffirming its commitment of £100,000 to the project last year.

The group have secured a disused area of the Knab next to a disused coastguard station, and are to seek planning permission for the site in the autumn.

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Community Work Officer June Porter said: "This is a fantastic boost for the project and opens the door for the Association to now apply to SportScotland for what will hopefully be the final piece of the funding package. Everyone is excited at the positive steps being made. On the back of the Olympic Games where we saw BMX biking feature for only the second time, we expect interest in extreme sports such as BMXing and skateboarding to grow locally even more and all going well, Shetland will have its own top class venue in which to develop our own extreme sports stars."

A plan to build a skatepark at Clickimin seven years ago was derailed after all the cash had been raised.

Association Chairman James Stewart said the project would now "ramp up" local fundraising efforts and he hoped it would go to tender early next year.

(NE)