THE village of Burley-in-Wharfedale is to get its own skate park after teenagers raised thousands of pounds to make their dream a reality.

The village's youth forum has managed to raise £20,000 - which includes some support from Ilkley Parish Council.

Now the young people have been told the remainder of the £33,000 needed will be provided by Bradford council and a meeting of Burley-in-Wharfedale Forum has voted almost unanimously in favour of the project.

Ian Day, from Bradford's parks and landscapes department told villagers the scheme could be moved forward quite quickly if local people were in support. He said the skate park, which would be sited on the recreation ground, would be one of a network of similar facilities being created along the Wharfe Valley.

Existing skate parks at Addingham and Ilkley, as well as a proposed one at Menston, meant youngsters were unlikely to be attracted from outside Burley to use the new facility, he said.

Community council member Mike Walker said there had been a constant demand for the skate park from the youth of the village for many years.

He told the meeting the scheme was 'relatively modest' and was intended to meet the needs of younger children who were not old enough to travel into Ilkley. He asked local people to give their support to the scheme.

Community council member John Sparshatt congratulated the youth forum on the 'sterling work' they had done in pushing the project forward, and he thanked Bradford Youth Services for their support.

"I think it will be a worthwhile facility for the village," he said.