Last updated 11:50, Wednesday, 07 January 2009

By Richard HerbertA £360,000 elevated walkway is planned to help nature lovers enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of a thriving wildlife haven.

The 0.3m high, 600m long boardwalk will run along the edges of the tranquil reed bed between the south-east corner of Cavendish Dock and just south of Salthouse Mills in Barrow.

The plan stems from a project to enhance the dock as a nature reserve.

The dock is seen as the “green” area of Barrow’s £200m Waterfront revamp.

Victoria Lawson, of Capita Symonds, which is working on the boardwalk scheme for Cumbria County Council, said: “Originally, the proposals for enhancements focused on waterfront land immediately adjacent to Cavendish Dock.

“But during a site visit with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Natural England and the county council ecologist, requests were made to extend the enhancements into the United Utilities-owned reed bed.

“These requests included a boardwalk to allow people to enter into and experience this unique reed bed environment of which there are few others of this size in Cumbria.

“The boardwalk is intended to offer an alternative spatial experience to visitors to Cavendish Dock, leading them from the openness and exhilaration of the dock and Roosecote Sands into the sense of enclosure and proximity to nature offered by the reed bed.

“The boardwalk would follow a line that aims to facilitate this spatial experience, while keeping to the edges of the reed bed to avoid dissecting the bed and disturbing wildlife or habitats.”

County council spokesman Gareth Cosslett said it is applying to the Environment Agency and the Northwest Regional Development Agency for funding for the £360,000 project. It is envisaged it will be built within the next three years, he said.