YOUNG people campaigning for a skatepark have set out their arguments before a 50-strong audience at a town council meeting.

The Cricklade skaters have been calling for a dedicated site since November 2000, when town councillors asked what facilities young people would most like to have.

At last night's meeting, six delivered the results of a survey of 80 people aged from 11 to 18. If they have their way, the new park will be on an area south of the youth centre.

The audience of residents greeted the detailed presentation with admiration, but that didn't stop them from raising fears about issued ranging from policing to vandalism.

Skater Ed Wells, 14, from Deansfield, said: "Maintenance should be trouble-free, as the park will be made up of concrete and stainless steel.

"It is in our interest to keep the area tidy and litter free, and we will make sure all the users and our friends who come to spectate know we have to clear up any mess."

The young speakers also stressed that litter bins would be in place, along with a system for reporting faults and a ban on skating after 10.30pm perhaps enforceable through having a timeswitch on the lights.

Another speaker, 16-year-old Rob Walker from Pauls Croft, explained: "There are a lot of skateboarders in Cricklade who have nowhere safe to skate.

"The park will be a place for young people aged from seven to 18 to go and be safe."

Cricklade town councillor Richard Roberts, who has helped and supported the campaigners, also stressed this.

He said: "What we don't want is for them to improvise and injure themselves."

Among the questioners from the audience was Mike Ward from Stockham Close, who remembered his own skateboarding days from the 1970s and 80s, and pointed out that parks built in cities in those days fell prey to vandals.

Coun Roberts pointed out that Cricklade was a smaller community where people tended to know each other.

Martin Hardy, also from Stockham Close, which is near the proposed park site, asked what would happen is skateboarding fell out of fashion, as it did at the end of the late 1970s craze.

This question was answered by Brent Dye, manager of Rising Star Skateboarding, a Gloucester skateboarding centre.

He said he was certain that the current popularity of the sport was here to stay, and would increase.

If the project goes ahead, the young people hope to secure grants from various bodies, including the National Lottery, although much of the funding would come from the town and district councils.

The town council will make no decision until further public consultation has been held, along with another public meeting no more than two months from now.