A COUNCIL has successfully built an all-weather stone footpath that serves as a connection between Tilston Primary School and neighbouring housing estates.

Tilston Parish Council worked closely with Cheshire West Crowd to build the new footpath, and raised over £9,500 to do so.

The Cheshire West Crowd allows everyone to put forward community-led projects and attract funding to make the borough more vibrant, resilient and connected.

Around 44 different backers supported the project to help make it a reality, including more than £7,000 from the Cheshire West Crowd Fund - which was created by Cheshire West and Chester Council - and Community Innovation Fund.

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Neil Ritchie, who was involved with setting up and running the crowdfunding campaign, said: “Other projects might not realise, as I didn't, that there’s the possibility of obtaining grants from the council to make it all possible.

“Even if a parish council is a very small one like we are, it's still possible to make use of this crowdfunding website to benefit the project.

“Following our fundraising activity, the parish council attracted a significant donor, whose contribution of an extra 29 per cent allowed us to enhance the project and make it fully wheelchair accessible.

“At the start of this, I thought it was going to be difficult, but it did become easy, especially with all the help we got.”

After opening the new footpath a couple of months back, people are already making the most of it.

Neil added: “People had been using this route in the past, but not in all weathers.

“As soon as it was opened, children started using it to come to school and people started using it for walking to the playing field, which is our main recreation ground and has a children's play area.”

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Councillor Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council and champion for the Cheshire West Crowd, added that they have made more than £300,000 available in the latest funding and is encouraging projects to get involved.

She added: “It's fantastic to hear another success story through the Cheshire West Crowd.

“This is a really flexible way for projects to crowdfund and generate the support of their local community.”