THE new £155,000 pump track at the Wellington Recreation Ground has been hailed as something the town can celebrate.

The new facilities for wheeled-sports fans are nearing completion at the Recreation Ground and will become a great attraction for people of all ages who like cycling, scooting and skating.

The official opening of the pump track will be from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, September 26 – the same day as Wellington Carnival.

Police will be at the opening to offer security bike marking and crime reduction advice to people.

Officers have also been trying to keep people off the pump track – with some people thinking that it is already up and running.

Sgt Jon O’Connor, of Wellington Police, said: “This past weekend we have had several calls to remove and prevent youths from entering the site.

“Whilst we appreciate the excitement and anticipation of its impending opening, I would hate for this to be delayed purely because of people entering through the fences and using it early when they shouldn’t.”

Sgt O’Connor made his comments at Wellington Town Council’s monthly meeting on Monday (September 7) where Cllr John Thorne suggested the authority had been “duped” into paying for virtually all of the £155,000 pump track.

Cllr Thorne said he was expecting grant money to have been secured to pay for the project.

“We have been duped into paying for the whole thing,” he said. “I thought we were going to be a guarantor for it, but getting that external funding. But I haven’t heard of any money coming in and we’re having to pay for all of it. I think we were naïve in thinking that we would get external funding.”

The council’s chief executive, Dave Farrow, said that Olly Edmonston-Law, of the Wellington and District Sports Federation, a key supporter of the pump track project, had applied for various grants on behalf of the council.

Cllr Justin Cole said: “We as a group signed the funding off knowing we didn’t have any grants and in my mind I thought we would be paying for the whole thing and grants coming in would have been a bonus.”

And Cllr Andy Govier said: “We have delivered something that is going to be a real asset for the community. This is a resounding success and should be celebrated.

“I think I pushed for us to get on with this project and I know that some of the funding applications were just a punt.”

The WWN queried the funding for the project after the meeting and it transpired that just £20,000 of the overall £155,000 had come from town council reserves. Nearly £110,000 had come from Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 funding from local housing developments, while £2,881 had been raised through donations and a further £23,000 had actually been raised through grants including £15,000 from Sport England and £3,000 from the Somerset Community Foundation.

Cllr Thorne also said the pump track was much bigger than originally agreed, but that claim was also strongly refuted by Mr Farrow and other councillors.