CHARITY owned open space in Chippenham is now accessible to people with disabilities and pushchairs, thanks to a new £16,000 footpath which has been installed.

The new paths with widened gateways are only some of the plans for the Westmead Open Space, owned by Chippenham Borough Lands Charity, off Pewsham Way, with the end goal of planting an arboretum for Chippenham.

Thanks to £10,000 from the National Lottery Fund and the remaining sum from the charity’s trustees, the footpath was completed this summer.

The new crushed stone surfaced path with widened gateway has allowed people with disabilities and parents with pushchairs to use the open parkland.

Sue Cutler from Chippenham, who uses an electric wheelchair, said: “I used to walk dogs up there before becoming disabled, so when I first was able to go back up there I cried, it’s amazing.”

CEO of Chippenham Borough Lands Charity, Phil Tansley, said: “The charity’s vision is to provide Chippenham with its own arboretum in the future.

“It is part and parcel with our desire to turn it into Chippenham Country Park and making everything disabled friendly.”

The Westmead Open Space is to be a place where the young, old and the vulnerable can come together and benefit from a number of shared resources and spaces.

Plans are underway for a state-of-the-art £1 million climbing centre and other facilities including a skate, scooter and BMX park in conjunction with Wiltshire Council.

A wildlife trail and bird hides will also be built on the fields, and more than 6,000 trees have been planted, with more planned for late autumn to commemorate World War One.

Mr Tansley added: “We have also added some bee hives and our goal is to have wild livestock back on the land.

“It is all exciting stuff.”