Baxenden Community Forum have received a £15,000 grant to create a ‘Hollins Woodland Way’.
The grant, obtained from a £7,750 Biffa Award and a £7,500 the Windfall Fund, will be spent surfacing paths in Hollins Wood, behind Hollins School.
The Forum have been working with both the Wildlife Trust and Hyndburn council’s trees officer over the past eight months to secure the funding.
The footpath runs through the mature woodland which is used daily by many local people walking their dogs and also occasionally by the Baxenden ‘Stepping Out’ group.
The woodland provides access not only to Woodnook Vale Nature Reserve but also to the newly created ‘Jubilee Woodlands’.
It has been maintained to a certain extent by Baxenden Community Forum and more recently by Wildlife Trust Volunteers.
Sheila McVan, of the forum, said: “The forum noticed that it has become increasingly muddy and dangerous over the past few years and so decided to apply for funding.
“This work will be starting shortly and may cause some access problems, but hopefully the end result will mean a durable sustainable surface accessible in all weather.”
Gillian French, Biffa Award Programme Manager, said: “This work is an excellent example of how the Landfill Communities Fund can help protect and preserve places like Hollins Woodland Way.
“For more than 16 years nature reserves and habitats across the UK have benefited from the scheme and the organisations that award grants through the fund look forward to supporting more in the future.”
