Work is scheduled to begin early this summer on the £1.6 million extension of the Millennium Greenway in Chester to include Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford, creating links through to Chester and beyond into North Wales.

It is expected the extension – a partnership between Cheshire County Council and the NWDA – will be open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders by the autumn.

The funding package will provide approximately 3km of surfaced greenway, areas of landscaping, a new pedestrian bridge over the Chester to Manchester rail line and a number of access points onto the route.

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The new project is part of a programme of works called REVIVE which includes the County Council and NWDA working together to reclaim 70 hectares of brownfield land in Cheshire and Warrington.

Cheshire's Environment Executive Member Andrew Needham said: "The Millennium Greenway, which follows the route of a former railway line, is extremely popular and I am sure that the extension from Chester to Mickle Trafford and Guilden Sutton will add to its enjoyment for everyone who uses it.

"The REVIVE programme is extremely important in bringing back to life acres of brownfield land and there will be other projects, in particular old chemical industry sites, over the coming years."

Aftercare maintenance for the Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford project will be provided for 15 years, through the environmental charity Sustrans, who will also manage the route.

The first phase of the existing Millennium Greenway was completed in 1999 and runs between Deeside, North Wales to Chester.

(JM/BMcC)