A hazard on the soon-to-reopen Keswick to Threlkeld path has been cleared thanks to teamwork and the individual efforts of street cleaner Jimmy Irving.
Masses of leaves had fallen on a 300-metre stretch of the former railway line’s smooth new Tarmac surface near Keswick, creating a potential accident blackspot for people walking along the recently relaid track.
The danger from the old railway station to the first bridge was spotted by local resident Tony Dawson, who reported it to Tony Lywood, Keswick’s representative on Cumbria County Council.
“It had become a serious slip hazard and it was where many kids walk to Keswick School and mums with prams go in the other direction to St Herbert’s twice daily,” said Mr Lywood.
He managed to get the Lake District National Park Authority and Cubby Construction, who have worked together on the path, plus Allerdale Borough Council and its street cleansing contractor Tivoli to all come together to sort out the issue free of charge, with Jimmy using a giant leaf blower on Monday morning.
“I’m really glad to have been of assistance,” said Jimmy, from Tivoli. “It was a simple job and we can look at it again in a few weeks.”
His boss, Stewart Henderson, added: “We were more than happy to help.”
The Tarmac surface was a controversial part of the restoration of the path, which suffered severe damage during the 2015 floods.
Many local people campaigned for a coarse surface to be used, saying the man-made option created a “four-mile black scar on the landscape” on the track, which is due to reopen shortly.
Mr Lywood said: “One of the things brought up in the fight over tarmac was maintenance and this leaf clear-up shows that the Lake District National Park Authority is listening to local concerns.
“Multi-agency working is a great thing if it can be done and in this case, with the help of Tivoli, it took no more than a couple of hours.
“Obviously, the whole path to Threlkeld would be too much but the urban area to the bridge would be an excellent start.
“Choreographing everyone to agree on a course of action takes longer and I thank them all, including Jimmy, for a quick solution to a practical problem.
“It is how things like this should work in an ideal world. Maybe it helped that the Lake District National Park Authority’’s chief executive is Richard Leafe!”
