Framlingham Town Council closed the park on Wednesday to allow for major refurbishing work, which will include a complete resurface of the existing skate park, construction of a new half-pipe and some smaller ramps and for existing metal ramps to be incorporated.

The work is expected to take eight weeks, exceeding the six-week summer break that pupils get from school.

The town council has said that the closure of the ramps, in the town’s Pageant Park, was “unfortunately unavoidable” as soft ground during the spring would not carry the truck-loads of concrete. The council said it had also explored the potential use of tracking, but concluded that the expense involved would have meant further delays in building the park.

An impressive £80,000 was raised to see the skate park open in 2007, however a health and safety inspection in 2012 revealed that some of the ramps were severely corroded and had to be dismantled. The town council was forced to foot the bill with the firm behind the work having gone into liquidation.

A further £23,000 was raised to see the skate park upgraded this time around, by the Skate Fram Fundraising Group and Framlingham Town Council.