WHEN Aida Kiledjian wanted to develop an accessible walk around Leominster in 2008, she worked with ECHO, a local independent charity supporting adults who have learning and other disabilities.
It has taken a long time to get there, but she never gave up.
Last week the final stretch was finally made wheelchair-accessible by Leominster Town Council.
ECHO used their Small Sparks project to help Aida devise a circular walk around the town for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility. They gave the route the title Aida's Accessible Amble. Leaflets were published and distributed to promote this new facility. ECHO employed Dennis Downey who is a walk leader for Walking for Health to work with Aida to plan an interesting, stimulating and accessible route. Leominster Town Council funded an upgrade of part of the footpath.
But the stretch along the railway line remained problematic and forced users of wider wheelchairs to take a detour. When ECHO's Friday Club members chanced the route last week they were overjoyed to notice a great improvement in the footpath. Subsequent enquiries revealed that Leominster Town Council used money from Herefordshire Council's P3 Scheme and Lengthsman's Scheme to finally complete the project. This is the final chapter that fulfils the footpath saga.
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