Joy as new accessible footpath open for use

FoHC are delighted that the new accessible footpath across Horfield Common has been completed in time for park users to benefit from using it this winter!

Friends of Horfield Common Update

Woo-Hoo! The new accessible footpath is open for use!

FoHC are delighted that the new accessible footpath across Horfield Common has been completed in time for park users to benefit from using it this winter!

The new footpath project was first suggested 8 years ago by one of FOHC’s then committee members, in response to feedback from local people using the common – large areas of which were inaccessible and unuseable during the winter months. Since FoHC was set up in 2006, there had been repeated requests from local residents for installation of a new path between the car park at the Ardagh, and the path close to the top of Hughenden Road which has been a longstanding ‘desire line’ for people using the common.

The requests have been for 3 main reasons - 1. to enable all to walk a circuit of the common without needing to go too near to Kellaway Avenue (particularly requested by families with young children & dog walkers), 2. to enable people with limited mobility to be able to access the common during the winter when it can be boggy and wet for months at a time; for those in wheelchairs and/or using mobility scooters, this has meant large areas of the common have been inaccessible, and 3. to enable the hundreds of people who walk across the common everyday to access the shops & bus services that run from Kellaway Avenue to use this route year-round without ending up covered in mud and/or having to walk out of their way to avoid the boggy grassed areas.

FoHC Volunteers submitted a funding application to the Bags of Help scheme annd was shortlisted & put to the public vote in local Tesco stores in 2016. Thank you to everyone who voted for our new pathway. Since being awarded the funding in 2016, we have been working with BCC Parks Department to plan the installation of the path and are thrilled to see it now in place. Thank you to all who have worked so hard to get this path installed. This is an improvement which will ensure that the common is as accessible to as many people as possible throughout the year.

Friends of Horfield Common are recruiting for new members to the group's committee. If you are interested in getting involved and have some time to commit to supporting the work of the group - please come along to our next meeting - all welcome!