A CAMPAIGN to build a skatepark in Weymouth was given a £100,000 boost today.

Skate enthusiasts are on a roll after hearing their bumper grant application to the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA) was successful.

The massive cash award will pay for a large part of the development costs of the skatepark, which has already been given planning permission by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. It will be built at the former petrol station off Preston Beach Road.

The Weymouth Skatepark Association is now waiting to hear if its Sport England lottery application will be looked on just as favourably. The lottery grant would form the lion's share of the funding needed to build the skatepark.

Association chairman Kit Johnson said: "It is absolutely fantastic news. It is an enormous amount of money from such a prestigious organisation.

"The grant has given the project a high level of credibility and it could not have come at a better time.

"It is a great show of solidarity from the South West RDA and we are now more confident about the lottery application."

The South West RDA, established to drive forward the region's economy, awarded the money through its Community Investment Fund.

RDA area manager Kay Homer said: "The grant will assist in the development of a vital community facility catering for extreme sports but also offering a range of activities for the whole family.

"The project will also help to tackle youth disaffection in the Weymouth and Portland area and provide an opportunity for young people to become involved in the development and management of the skatepark."

The facility will cost around £350,000 in total. Organisations have pledged £24,500 with the remaining funding coming from the RDA and Sport England.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, which owns the land, will charge the Weymouth Skatepark Association a peppercorn rent.

Work to build the skatepark could start next month with the facility opening in the summer.

It will include a large outdoor canopy-covered skateboard, inline skating and BMX biking area for all-year-round use. The area will be resurfaced as a base for purpose-built ramps and the existing building will be extended and refurbished to provide a viewing area, caf and a social area.

Four people will be employed to work at the skatepark, which will operate on a not-for-profit basis.

Kit Johnson said: "Our campaign to get recognition and facilities for extreme sports started three years ago and we feel we have succeeded.

"We are now closer than ever to providing a skatepark in Weymouth."