THERE were whoops and hoorays as Winchester’s skate park was officially opened this afternoon.

Some 200 skaters turned up for the five-hour skate jam and celebration at the £270,000 development.

Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Eileen Berry, was surrounded by park users of all ages, the design team, and councillors as she cut the red ribbon and shouted “hooray”.

As music blared across the park, off Gordon Road, Cllr Berry said she was pleased to see it well-used.

She said: “I think it is absolutely fantastic and essential. It’s catering for a certain clientele that love this sport. If it’s well supervised and safe where better to be, off the streets and doing something like this? It is absolutely wonderful.”

Professional skaters and BMX riders gave demonstrations and handed out prizes for the best tricks.

The spray concrete park has replaced the outdated park made of prefabricated metal ramps.

It offers the latest in park construction, and was designed by Maverick Industries and a team of local users.

The design allows users to create their own lines and encourages flow around the park, enabling people of all disciplines and abilities to share the same space effectively.

Cllr Jamie Scott said: “We councillors have seen the process through and we are really pleased how it turned out. It really is a success. The whole point is to get the design right and then the youngsters buy in to it.”

Nearly 100 parents and passers-by crowded round.

One parent, Vicki Foster (pictured below), 34, a housewife, of Cromwell Road, Stanmore, said her eight-year-old son Charlie loves spending time there.

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“It’s great. You can see in everyone’s faces that they are enjoying it,” she said.

“It just brings the community together and gives the kids somewhere to hang out, have fun, and make new friends. It’s a shame it couldn’t be a bit bigger, but you can’t moan because it was a lot of money.”

The skate jam runs until 7pm today.