A new BMX pump track is set to be built in March, three years after a project was set up to try and get a new track opened in the town.

Fenland District Council has approved plans to build the new track in West End Park.

The track will be free for people to come and use and it is hoped it will help people to develop a “lifelong interest in sport”.

Cambridgeshire County Council submitted a letter in support of the application highlighting the work that had gone into the scheme.

The authority explained how ‘The Wheelz Project’ had been set up three years ago by a small group, who spoke to people in March to find out the need for a new facility in the town.

This group then worked on a design for a track and tried to gain support for the proposals.

The project also received £100,000 of funding from the Youth Investment Fund and Mick George.

The county council said: “Built from dirt and asphalt the facility will be a gateway to developing a lifelong interest in a sport – not only cycling, but other wheeled sports like skateboarding, scooters, roller skating, and wheelchairs, helping to keep people active and healthy.”

Some concerns about the BMX track were shared by people in the area, with questions raised about the suitability of the location.

One person said: “Although we are in favour of the provision of a BMX track, we feel that such close proximity to dwellings is inappropriate.

“We would ask whether other sites were considered?”

However, other people in the town voiced support for the plans and highlighted the benefits they believed the track would offer.

One person said: “I think anything that can be done locally to support our young people in healthy outdoor pursuits is important, so this pump track project is vitally important for that very reason.

“I believe it fosters a sense of community in the young which leads to a pride in their community, their local environment and in their home town.

“It’s a brilliant standard to set as well as it shows that their community want them to have their own spaces and to be part of a healthy, engaged environment, in which we hope they become invested in and want to continue similar good works in the future when they can begin to influence what happens for the people in their town.”

The district council agreed to approve the planning application to build the track, subject to a number of conditions.

The planning officer’s report said: “The proposed BMX pump track will not materially impact the character or amenity of the surrounding area.

“Additionally, the proposal is considered to aid recreational activity provision in the area and provide a biodiversity net gain, through off site habitat creation on land in the same ownership as the applicant, adjacent to the site.”