STROUD Town Council is providing £4,500 for disabled access ramps to the canal towpath in Bowbridge.
The construction work is due to start before the end of the year and will benefit not only disabled people, but also people with pushchairs and cyclists.
Town mayor Kevin Cranston said: “This is a wonderful example of local government working together to achieve a great result for the public. It shows imaginative collaboration and proactive negotiation from Stroud District Council, and helpful responses from others.”
In the 60s a concrete bridge was built alongside the original brick bridge to widen Butterow for two-way traffic.
When Gloucestershire County Council took on the bridge project, the concrete proved too costly to remove. This meant that the only way people could use the towpath would be via steps to get under the bridge and it would not be accessible to cyclists, pushchairs or people with disabilities.
The new section of ramps will run up along Eagle Mill Close.
Knightstone Housing, who own the land, agreed that it could become a public footpath. The county council agreed to legally adopt it and thus be financially responsible for it in the future.
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