Brooks now accessible to wheelchairs

The new all-weather pathway at Bersted Brooks will be officially brought into use at a woodland activity open day on June 13.

The path will allow wheelchair users, families with pushchairs and people who are unsteady on their feet to get around the open space north of Rowan Way.

It is the result of a 9,995 lottery grant awarded last year. Low-level lecterns will also be installed along the route.

The open day is being held thanks to 2,430 from the Big Lottery Fund's Breathing Spaces scheme.

Included in the event will be woodcrafts demonstrations, talks and guided walks as well as a teddy bears's picnic and story telling for younger visitors.

There will also be a tree care workshop where visitors can get involved maintaining the young trees which will eventually grow into rare riverine woodland.

Gez Watson, a Friend of Bersted Brooks, said: "Without lottery funding, Bersted Brooks would still be a trio of unkempt fields.

"We have been given the opportunity to create something special for residents and visitors to use as a relaxing haven from the stress of modern life, which will mature into beautiful riverside woodland for future generations to enjoy."

Bersted Brooks is a 19-hectare site alongside the north-east bank of the Aldingbourne Rife between the road bridges in Rowan Way and Shripney Lane.

It has a wide variety of valuable wildlife habitats such as mature trees, hedgerows, ditches, scrub and wetland.

It has been open to the public for about four years and 11,000 trees were planted there in 2005 by volunteers.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP