Plastic bottles used to create boardwalk at country park

The team from the Friends of Newmillerdam Country Park, near Wakefield, have spent the last 18 months working on the new Lawns Dike Trail, which is fully accessible to wheelchair users and opens up a beautiful but boggy area of the park to visitors who might otherwise have been unable to experience it.

Wakefield MP and Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh will officially open the new £55,000 trail on June 7.

Jeff Stimpson, Friends’ chairman, said: “It was quite a task for a group of volunteers to take on. The team worked in some quite tough conditions and we are delighted to have got the job done.

“Lawns Dike is a lovely but boggy part of the park so visitors have rarely got to enjoy it.

“The boardwalk makes it accessible for everyone and it’s a great way to use recycled plastic bottles.”

More than 25,000 screws, nuts and bolts, 1,500 posts, more than 3,500m of decking and around 1,000m of boards were used to construct the 500m-long walkway, which runs alongside Lawns Dike and over a bridge to return to the main lakeside path.

The project also includes a viewing platform and a picnic area.

Mary Creagh said: “Newmillerdam is one of the jewels in Wakefield’s crown and this environmentally friendly boardwalk will provide easy access for the public.

“I want to thank the volunteers for everything they have achieved. I’m looking forward to the official opening and taking my first steps on the Lawns Dike Trail.”

The Friends carried out the work with financial backing from a £50,000 grant made by Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd, an organisation registered to support projects under the Landfill Community Fund.

Contributions were also made by Wakefield Council, Wakefield Rotary, Crigglestone Parish Council, Sandal Community Association, North of England Horticultural Society, Newmillerdam Community and Conservation Association and Yorkshire Building Society.