YOUNG people in Aberystwyth have expressed their “disappointment with the town council”, after they refused a proposal to build a weather shelter in the town’s skate park.

A group of young people, including 17-year-old Josh Jones, approached community organisation Caru Aber about building a weather shelter and installing a water fountain in the town council owned Aberystwyth Skatepark, or Parc Kronberg.

But while Aberystwyth Town Council Mayor Councillor Alun Williams said the council are hoping to “explore the practicality” of installing a drinking fountain in the new year, councillors rejected the proposal for a shelter, which Caru Aber were willing to finance.

Josh is a “huge fan of skateboarding” and uses the skatepark at least once a week, but said they are “tired” of having to find shelter in a hurry when the weather turns.

“We approached Caru Aber last year as we were fairly tired of having to make a mad dash into town or the nearest bus stop in order to find shelter when it rains,” Josh explained.

“We regularly use the park but when it rains we use the gazebo at the Starling Cloud to shelter. We always get moved on by the staff and so have nowhere to go to shelter.

“It’s the same for drinks, there is nowhere close by to get a drink of water on a hot day. Some kids go to the Starling Cloud to ask for a drink of water, some of us aren’t allowed into a pub so have to walk all the way to Tesco.”

Cllr Williams claimed community consultations prior to the building of the new skatepark revealed a consensus that the former shelter “led to more problems than it solved”.

He said: “It wasn’t so much a question of the views of the council, it was more a question of what came out of community consultations, particularly with park users, local residents and the police. The previous shelter at the old park was subject to some anti-social behaviour - including significant vandalism and some drug use - and it was felt that, in terms of the all-round safety and security of the young users, and as with other similar places, a fully open-plan and visible site was preferable.”

Josh added: “How can the council judge us all when there are apparently drug users around? Surely people are going to take drugs whether there is a shelter there or not? Will the council be taking away all the bus shelters just in case some takes drugs in them?”