Work has started on Sittingbourne's new Mill Skatepark. It has taken nearly 10 years for the £500,000 project to get off the ground.

Construction began on Monday as councillors gathered on the 570-square metre site behind Halfords on the Mill Way Retail Park.

Cllr Sarah Aldridge, cabinet member health and wellbeing at Swale council, which stumped up £240,000 to support the project, said: “It’s great to see work beginning to provide young people with new purpose-built facilities to have fun, get active and practice their skills."

It was the brainchild of David Green of Eastchurch. The boss of Birds and Pests Solutions said: "In 2011 my son Daniel asked me to help build a skate park in Sittingbourne because the youngsters didn't have anywhere to go with their skateboards.

"Being an ex-skater myself I felt it was time Swale had something to be proud of. The site will also attract a lot of business and interest from outside the area."

He added: "Skateparks work for the whole family. They help children socialize, become educated and grounded. They can be used by any age, disability, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs, or gender. If you persevere you can achieve anything. Sometimes it just takes a while."

The park has been designed and is being built by Gravity Skateparks and will include rails, grind banks, a jump box, stair set and a rotate platform ditch bowl, seating, bike racks and landscaping. It will be managed by Brogdale CIC, a community interest company.

Brogdale's Rebecca O’Neill said: "After a lot of hard work by young people and a dedicated steering group, the skatepark is now almost a reality.

"It will provide a great place for young people to meet, demonstrate their skills or learn new ones. We are excited and are now planning a launch event. We want to hear what young people would like and how they want to be involved."

A time capsule will also be buried during the opening ceremony.

To follow the building progress, visit the website at www.mill.org.uk. Work should be complete by July.