The provision of a skate park for Longford has taken a major step forward today with the announcement of over €400,000 in funding.
The grant is part of a 27 million euro fund from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a programme designed to combat dereliction and breathe new life into rural towns and villages.
The Greyhound track was purchased by the council this year following years of inactivity, with Part 8 planning for the proposed skate facility approved by local Councillors this month.
The funds will be used to aid the development of the 'skate and recreational park' planned for the track on the park road.
Longford Skate Park Committee have been campaigning for the amenity for a number of years, with several sites examined across the town.
Committee Chair Lauren Lawlor believes those involved in the sport must be a part of the design process of any park:
If you had told us this 10 months ago, we wouldn't have believed you, especially having been turned down so many times.
It was amazing even at the meeting to have so many Councillors come to us and say no matter what happens at the meeting, the skate park is a go.
We plan to be heavily involved in the design aspect of it.
When we spoke to the council originally, we told them how important it was to have skaters involved in it.
There have been too many times were skate parks have been built wrong and end up going unused.
