COUNCILLORS have given in principle support for a pump track to be created at Wellington Recreation Ground which could help to find future BMX cycling stars.

Wellington Town Council’s environment committee agreed last week to back the idea following a lot of support for it expressed on social media.

A pump track is a purpose-built track with a circuit of rollers, banked turns, and features designed to be ridden completely by riders ‘pumping’, generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedalling or pushing.

They were originally designed for the mountain bike and BMX scene, but are now also used for skateboarding and accessible to wheelchairs.

Mountain biking, BMX racing, and skateboarding are now all established sports included in the Olympic Games.

The council’s green corridor advisory board, comprising local interested community groups, met in June and discussed a proposal for a wheeled sports park put forward by a group of enthusiasts as part of the Wellington and District Sports Federation.

Olly Edmonson-Law, of the sports federation, developed proposals to improve facilities for enthusiasts of cycling, skateboards, long boards, roller skates, inline skates, scooter adapted bikes, and radio-controlled cars, as well as for wheelchair-user sports.

The plans originally involved modernising the town’s existing skate park, building two pump tracks on 12 Acre Field and relocating long-established mud jumps from their current location to alongside the planned pump track.

But councillors were told last week a new site had been identified for the pump track in the recreation ground close to the play area.

Mr Edmonson-Law said in a report: “The idea behind the pump track has grown from the Wellington Sports Federation wanting to improve the facilities for BMX riders.

“The idea of a pump track will not only meet the target audience of BMX riders, but also the needs of many other wheeled sports users across the ages.”

Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “There is a shed load of support for this on social media.”

The Mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, said: “BMX is up and coming again now and having spoken to people who like BMX and listened to them, I am in favour of this.”

The council’s chief executive, Dave Farrow, said the pump track would ‘not interfere’ with any of the football pitches on the recreation ground.

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky said that sporting emphasis had often been about mainstream sports such as football, cricket, and rugby and he was impressed the council was looking to support other activities.

He said: “This is a very good thing to do as we become a more diverse town.

“This is building facilities for the future.”

Cllr John Thorne said he was in support of the project, but was a ‘little concerned’ at how close it would be to a children’s play area.

Councillors agreed to speak with neighbouring Court Fields School about potentially incorporating a part of its sports field which could be redundant since a 3G pitch was built last year.

The pump track will be discussed again by the full council on Monday (September 1).