Skaters in Chippenham may have to wait another eight months for a skatepark planning application to be submitted.

Chippenham Area Board heard last Monday that an application is expected to be put in by December this year.

Skateboarders have been waiting for a permanent skatepark in the town since 2002, when one in Monkton Park was shut down and residents affected by noise were paid thousands of pounds in compensation by the district council.

The area board promised in September that an application would be made for a concrete skatepark in Monkton Park, next to the Olympiad leisure centre and multi-use games area.

Since that meeting, council officers have set up a project team, which has procured consultancy support to prepare planning documents.

Coun Peter Hutton, who was chairman of the skatepark task group, said: “We want to do it as soon as possible but we have to go through the process and be thorough.

“There are lots of technical surveys to do.”