THE JSK8 skatepark in Cam has been completed and is already being used by enthusiastic young skaters and BMX riders.

Within a year of securing the required funding for the Jubilee Field project, which involved the parish councils and young people of Cam, Coaley and Slimbridge, the work has been finished.

Cam Parish Council chairman Dennis Andrewartha, who was on the Jsk8 committee along with fellow councillors Miranda Clifton and John Hudson who led the group, paid tribute to everyone's hard work.

Cllr Andrewartha said: "Everyone in the Jsk8 group, young or old, whether they were from Cam, Coaley or Slimbridge, has done a first class job to push this forward.

"It has been a fantastic success so far. We have had as many as 120 people a day up there, from toddlers up to men in their 20s and there have been no problems.

"This facility is long overdue, but it is not the end of the project. It is the start of a project to make the Jubilee Field available for recreational use for all the community."

The campaign to provide the wheeled sports facility began in late 2002 with a petition of over 400 names presented by local young people to Cam Parish Council.

As similar requests were being made to Coaley and Slimbridge Parish Councils, the JSk8 Group was formed to endeavour to provide a facility that would be accessible to the three parishes.

Interested members of the public, including youngsters, also joined the group to enable full consultation with the potential users of the facility.

Jsk8 quickly established that the skatepark would have to be large and varied enough to be valued by both experienced and novice users.

The group acquired funding from a range of organisations, getting £40,000 from Stroud District Council and £20,000 from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts.

With funding added from the three parish councils and also from several local groups a total of £70,000 was raised to complete this phase of the project.

The foundations and base were laid in January and February, along with an access path from the car park at the field.

Earlier this month the tarmac surface was laid and the following week the wheeled sports equipment was installed.

Further funding is available to provide a teen shelter at the site and the project will continue with a view to providing enhanced facilities at the Jubilee Field for all the family.

* There will be an afternoon of fun activities, including a barbecue, music, raffle and activities for younger children to celebrate the opening of the facility at the Jubilee Field on Saturday, June 5 (2pm).