THE CONCERETE skate park at Northfields recreation ground in Cwmbran was formally opened earlier today.

The park opened in early February and has become a well used facility by the local community.

It was designed with input from local skaters to appeal to people of all abilities, and contains a variety of obstacles for all wheeled sports including skateboards, BMX bikes, scooters and roller blades.

Councillor John Cunningham, executive member for neighbourhood services, officially opened the skate park.

“Skating, bmxing and scooters are all great ways for children to keep active, and skate parks allow them to do this in a safe environment," he said.

"The new site is a much more appropriate environment for the park than the previous location within the children’s play area at the boating lake and allows them to keep fit and have fun in a safe environment.”

Local skater Mitchell Willis, 17, said: “It is a really nice park. Much better than the old one and really good for scooters.”