£5,000 project to clean and restore paths at towers site

Environmental volunteering charity BTCV has been awarded the funding through the Biffaward Small Grants Scheme, which will pay for a project in which volunteers will clear overgrown scrubland to improve access to more than 3,200 metres of pathways.

The project will also pay for the restoration of a boggy footpath which follows the length of the Echoes of Blackburn Meadows "sound art" project, which was launched last September and follows a trail around the power station site.

Echoes of Blackburn Meadows, created by artist Jennifer Rich, relates the memories of former power station workers and the history of the site, as well as telling the stories of how electricity revolutionised home and working life in Sheffield, when electric light bulbs replaced gas lamps.

Ms Rich, who examined Sheffield's municipal electricity supply for an MA in landscape and culture at the University of Nottingham, said: "The work of staff and volunteers at BTCV is vital to Echoes of Blackburn Meadows.

"Our aim is to increase awareness of the historic vitality of the area and to diversity the range of activities available for visitors.

"BTCV will be laying the foundations for Echoes of Blackburn Meadows, making the area cleaner, safer and more accessible for future sound-walkers.

"Most importantly, BTCV will draw upon the skills and imaginations of local community members, who will be benefiting from the newly improved public spaces at Blackburn Meadows well into the future."