Bromham youngsters are closer to getting their own BMX track thanks to a £5,000 grant from the Devizes Area Board.

Wiltshire councillors from the Devizes area voted unanimously to give the money to the parish council towards the £20,000 cost of building the 40m by 20m track on land on the Millennium Field in the village.

But councillors were told the parish council did not feel it could increase its precept to pay anything towards the facility, although £2,000 was collected through local fundraising.

At the meeting of the area board at Bromham Social Club on Monday, Potterne parish councillor Tony Molland said: “I don’t think it is appropriate for the area board to give £5,000 without anything coming from the parish council.”

But Wiltshire councillor for Bromham and Rowde, Liz Bryant, said: “I have some sympathy with that but if the precept was raised the people of Bromham would be paying for something that would be open to anyone outside the village.”

Parish councillor Catherine Read told the Gazette that other grants have been applied for and she is confident the track will be ready before the end of the year.

She said: “The Bromham Wednesday Club gave us a very generous donation as well, so we are getting there.

“The young people of the village are very anxious to get this facility. They also want a skateboard park, but that may have to wait.”

There was less controversy over giving a grant of £5,000 to Wiltshire Museum in Devizes towards the £13,126 it needs to complete its Prehistoric Wiltshire galleries, designed to attract visitors who have already seen Stonehenge.

David Dawson, director of Wiltshire Museum, said the galleries are part of its project to triple the number of visitors to the museum, increase the use by schools by 25 per cent and increase the number of volunteers by 100 per cent.

Councillors agreed unanimously to the grant.

St John’s Church also received £5,000 towards its £15,000 project to refurbish the kitchen units and appliances within the parish rooms in Long Street, which are regularly used by the Opendoor scheme for homeless people.