The “end game” is in sight for the construction of Falmouth's purpose built skate park with work set to start at the beginning of next year.

However the original £500k cost of the project on Dracaena Playing Field has been downscaled to a £400k version because of rising costs.

The partnership in charge of building the park recently received £145k from the National Lottery after a lot of work behind the scenes from Falmouth mayor Kirstie Edwards and grounds and facilities manager Simon Penna.

£130k of that will go towards the build and £10k for a skate jam event scheduled to take place in July next year, plus £5k for impact monitoring reports.

Cllr Edwards said: ”We are extremely grateful for this opportunity from the National lottery and they have kept the dream alive!

“We’ve taken the decision to build a 400k version of the park with some adjustments from the original 500k due to post Covid/cost of living rising costs, to enable us to have a contingency fund and get the drainage done on site.”

The new model has been worked on by the committee with Maverick, the project contractor and will be revealed in the Packet next week.

The skatepark committee continue to fundraise towards the scheme and has just received £600 from the Falmouth fire service as part of their grants. There are a number of events still to come and this money will all go into the general project fund.

The drainage contract is currently being finalised and should be complete by Christmas.

The build is due to start January next year and the skate jam is planned for July 24, 2024 and is likely to be a one day family event with skate demos, training, live music etc.

The rewilding project is still moving forwards with all the bulbs going in now and the rest will be done after the build is complete.

They committee is still looking for additional funds to make this space the very best it can be and are looking for any local businesses who would like to support it to get in touch.

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Cllr Edwards told the Packet: “I am delighted that we are reaching the end game now, thanks to the sheer determination of the skatepark committee and Falmouth town council colleagues. The skate park will be incredible, and I simply cannot wait to celebrate the work we have achieved together as a community”

Committee chairman Alex Brinnen said: "It's amazing to get to this point, I'm so grateful that this council and these members have got this project across the line, after many years waiting.

“They've seen the vision and worked with us tirelessly to make it happen and we all want them to know how thankful we are for that. Exciting time for everyone in Falmouth."