A £140,000 skate park makeover planned with the involvement of skaters themselves is set to start in Letchworth next week.

Work on the Norton Common skate park will take about three months, with community charity Groundwork Hertfordshire carrying it out alongside North Herts District Council.

The planners held a series of consultation events with skaters and BMX riders who use the park so they could have their say on its future.

Groundwork landscape architest Nicola Murphy said: “The involvement of the skating community to design this project has been key in delivering this project. We are looking forward to moving on to the next stage of delivery and seeing the designs on the ground.”

Vaughan Watson, responsible for leisure at the district council, added: “A core group of around a dozen skaters have been instrumental in developing the plans in partnership with Groundwork, helping to create a skate park suitable for a mixture of abilities and wheeled sports users.

“This joined-up approach has ensured that the community using the equipment was involved in the design and building process, therefore maximising the use of the park and the new equipment.”

The skate park, on the recreational side of the Norton Common nature reserve, was installed about a decade ago and has become outdated.

While the work is done, the older children’s play area at the common will be closed to the public – but the junior children’s area outside the outdoor pool will remain open.