Old millworkers' route to work restored by charity

A riverside footpath in Keighley which had been vandalised has been restored thanks to a £56,000 grant.

The Worth Way Walk links Low Mill Lane to Woodhouse Road along the River Worth and is part of a longer trail through Keighley to Haworth.

It was once used by textile workers to walk from the town to 19th Century mills, but had more recently fallen into disrepair after a spate of paving stone thefts.

The Aire Rivers Trust repaired the alleyway along the route, which was a patchwork of mud and broken slabs, using money from the Keighley Towns Fund and a further £20,000 from the Keighley Big Local group.

Wendy Robinson, chair of the Aire River Trust, said the trust was "delighted" to have the financial support.

She said: "The Worth Way is a delightful, 11-mile circular walk that connects Keighley and Oxenhope along the banks of the River Worth.

"The upgrading of the path means it is now more accessible and can be enjoyed by more people, using our newly produced walking guide for the urban section of the route.

"It takes in some fabulous sections of the River Worth and it offers the opportunity to glimpse a wealth of wildlife from otters to dippers, especially at Damems Nature Reserve, where the funding has paid for work in the river to create new fish breeding habitat."

The chair said the money also allowed the charity to support local groups including the River Worth Friends and The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Environment Group.

She said: "Thanks to them we have an exciting opportunity to restore wildlife to the river and tackle issues like litter and pollution."

The work is part of a wider programme the trust is delivering along the river to improve access and enhance habitats along the River Worth corridor.

Staff and volunteers at the charity are preparing to create new habitat for fish at Damens Nature Reserve and looking for river restoration opportunities along the valley.

Shaun O'Hare is from Big Local, which is a National Lottery-funded programme.

He said: "The idea for a 'River Worth restoration project' was promoted in 2017 and supported with seed funding.

"It's been great to see the initiative develop and be delivered by the Aire River Trust. "The results that have been achieved here are impressive and we congratulate all those involved."

The Aire Rivers Trust was set up as a charity in 2012 to improve the River Aire and its catchment using a team of mostly volunteers.

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