A charity is trying to raise tens of thousands of pounds to provide its young people with a pump track.
Ride Mendips is looking to fundraise £100,000 to build a pump track in Cheddar, next to the village’s skatepark on the Sharpham Road Playing Fields.
The pump track is a circuit of rollers, banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by skateboarders and bikers using momentum through body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing.
A fundraising campaign was launched at the Ched Extravaganza which saw youngsters enjoying a half pipe in the village hall, in Church Road.
Ched Extravaganza helped raise £1,800 which will go towards getting plans drawn up and then putting the money and plans towards applying for grants and funds.
Ride Mendips chairman, Grant Garge said: “The motivation for us is we all have young kids interested in using the skatepark all the time. The skatepark is great but for the younger kids, the bowl and tip-off points are a bit too advanced.
“Having a pump track would be a good idea, especially for the fields.
“It is likely to be a couple of years to gather that kind of cash but we are all determined to see it become a reality.
“Cheddar is getting bigger and bigger with more and more young kids using the skatepark, which was a great initiative.
“It is really a friendly space having that as a different opportunity as it’s a gentler option.”
Grant said the pump track would tie in well with the community hub which is also planned for the playing fields, thanks to funding secured by Cheddar Parish Council from Hinkley Point’s Community Impact Mitigation Fund.
The council bid for £300,000 to put towards the creation of the community hub at the pavilion in Sharpham Road.
The nuclear energy plant awarded £320,000 for the project to go ahead.
The cash will allow the council to double the size of the pavilion, which opened in 2002, and provide more facilities the whole village will benefit from.
The closest pump track for kids to use is in Bristol or a BMX track in Burnham which is designed for more advanced riders.
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