A SKATE park in Monmouth which benefited from money seized from criminals officially opened on Saturday.

The Monmouth Off Street Project was given £700 by Gwent’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Ian Johnston’s Partnership Fund in 2013 to help with its fundraising.

The project was set up five years ago after police received calls complaining of young people on bikes and skateboards being noisy outside homes.

And in March 2010 60 people attended a meeting based around the idea of building a £180,000 accessible skate park to keep them off the streets.

Gwent Police’s Deputy PCC Paul Harris attended the Monmouth Off Street Project’s event at Rockfield Road Recreation Ground.

He said: “We know that anti-social behaviour and youths hanging around on the streets are an area of concern for many of our residents. By supporting projects such as this one we hope to tackle those concerns and help towards reducing low-level criminality and anti-social behaviour by providing a safe and fun place where young people can go. This is why the commissioner awarded the support funding to this project.”

And Shirley Hughes, who is a company secretary for the Monmouth Off Street project, said: “I’m delighted to see this open after so many years. Our children and young people deserve a space to be together to socialise, engage and practice their interests. It has only been in use for just over a month but over 100 young people were using the park at one time during a recent weekend. This shows just how popular it is. The project has definitely met the commissioners’ priorities where tackling anti-social behaviour is concerned. This isn’t something that has just been given to young people. They designed it and helped in the fundraising so they have ownership and respect for it.

“It’s brought the community together because along with the police and crime commissioner, so many other partners have been involved including the army, the police, the council, Rotary Club of Monmouth and local businesses such as Waitrose. Monmouth lacked adequate provision for too long but this project has demonstrated what can be achieved when partners in the community work together.”