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A NEW £90,000 skatepark will be up and running by Stourport's riverside in May despite further calls for Wyre Forest District Council to rethink its location.

The row over plans to build the facility is continuing, with Stourport Town Council and the Wyre Forest authority at odds over the best place for the attraction.

Stourport town councillor, David Little, said the proposed site, in front of the paddling pool at Riverside Meadows, was "not at all suitable", adding: "Teenagers can be rowdy so you can't put them next to families and young children who use the paddling pool and playground. It needs to be tucked away."

The town council feels a former netball court, now used as a car park, behind Stourport Sports Centre, off Harold Davies Drive would make a better home.

Claire Moore, who runs a putting green at Riverside Meadows, said she feared the riverside site, which is in the flood plain, would be vulnerable when the river burst its banks.

She added: "I am not against the skatepark at all. I think it is a wonderful thing for Stourport but I don't think it should be next to the kids' playground. It is a nice area for families to picnic and play."

John Campion, the district council's cabinet member for finance and corporate affairs, said the skatepark would increase facilities for teenagers in the town, adding the site was chosen after "a raft of consultation" with organisations, including police and user groups.

Nathan Desmond, cabinet member for community and leisure services, added: "The riverside is for people of all ages. It is only a small minority of teenagers that cause anti-social behaviour. I don't think it is fair to tar them all with the same brush.

"The riverside is not an ideal location for the skatepark, I admit, but all the other locations we have looked at are not suitable for various reasons. For this project to go ahead, it has to be by the riverside."

Go to news/videonews for a video of John Campion and Dave Little giving their views on the chosen riverside location.