Kevin McCloud opens Boardwalk in Hamwell Leaze

I'm hoping a video of the opening will be uploaded soon but here are the photos from 6pm this evening - the opening of the new Boardwalk in Hamwell Leaze.

Photos: taken this evening

This boardwalk - made from recycled plastic - is a significant improvement to the area and opens up the marshy area to explore - it then loops back round. A collection of Cainscross Parish Councillors were there (Jenny Miles, Jo Elliot and Ron Smith) plus Stroud Valleys Project (Director Clare Mahdiyone and Ivi Szaboova-Baxendale who has been involved with many of the Hamwell Leaze biodiversity projects (see for example here) - various others were there - including me - partly with my role in the Ruscombe Brook Action Group (RBAG) - it is the brook that the boards go over!

As regulars to this blog will know RBAG have long been tackling issues like the sewage in the brook and have tried (with some success) to get more work done in this and other areas upstream to reduce silting at The Lake at the Lawns.

Anyhow we started off with a couple of speaches - first Cainscross Parish Chair Barry Pierce (pictured with papers in photo and with Graham Barton and Kevin McCloud cutting the ivy ribbon) - he gave particular thanks to former chair Graham Barton for his involvement in getting the project to fruition - then came Kevin McCloud who is now involved with the Cashes Green Hospital site (Hopefully his speech on the video) - I did bend his ear on a few issues like more allotments please....

The press took several pics then we had the chance to explore the new boardwalks - the kids loved it! The next part of project I hope will be to open up a path under the railway arches and meet up with the road by the fire station.

It is great that this area is being opened up more - Cainscross Parish has the highest population and smallest amount of green spaces in the whole of Stroud District - also the more people use this site the less likely it is to face vandalism.

Anyway a nice evening - and well done indeed to Cainscross Parish Council for getting this project off the ground. The last photo if you are wondering is Ivi from Stroud valleys looking at the slow worms! Excuse the hurried blog but just a taster of the opening....

Update 24th August 2010: well I've added the link at top of this page to the movie of the opening and already had an email saying, where is Hamwell Leaze. Well go the end of Hyett Road (off Cashes Green Road just after the railway bridge coming from Tricorn House) and then around the corner to the Sheltered Accommodation and it is the large area of green behind that.