A £32,000 skate park in north Oxford is to be knocked down after tests found noise levels were illegally high.

The decision was announced yesterday (25 November) after members of Oxford City Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Environment voted for the park to be permanently closed.

The Aristotle Lane recreation ground skate park, built by the council and funded by housing developers, opened in April despite opposition from 90 per cent of people living within 50 metres.

It was closed temporarily a month later after an independent expert found the noise constituted a statutory nuisance.

An investigation to find an alternative city site for a skate area is now under way.

Residents who campaigned for the closure were delighted with the decision.

Judge Mary Jane Mowat, who commissioned a noise test from her back garden, said: "The constant noise was absolutely dreadful."

Osney and Jericho councillor Susanna Pressell appealed against the closure.

She said: "The only reason the council wants it closed is because they don't want to be sued by residents."

North ward councillor Stephen Brown denied this, adding: "The issue was whether it was fair and reasonable to have that amount of noise in the community."