Officially opening the new path at Marston Marsh, Eaton, Stewart White, residents association chairman Gerald Cooke and local resident Sarah Fincham and supporters of the Big Lottery Community Spaces Fund and council funded prooject.. Photo by Simon Finlay

A new easy-access path was celebrated at south Norwich nature reserve Marston Marsh this weekend.

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The hard-surface path, which will improve access for people with disabilities and those with children in pushchairs, was officially opened at midday on Saturday by the Eaton Village Residents’ Association.

A barbeque, music and facepainting made for a fun day to celebrate the vital new path - with Sheriff of Norwich Chris Higgins among the crowds - that follows the awarding of £49,976 from the Big Lottery Community Spaces Fund in April.

There was a celebratory mood, boosted by the recent news that Marston Marsh won the biodiversity award in the special awards category of this year’s Anglia in Bloom awards.

The lottery money - together with support from Norwich Fringe Project and Norwich City Council - has been used to produce the 1km-long path as well as interpretation signs that give information about wildlife and birdlife to be found on the marsh, featuring drawings by year one children from Eaton Primary School.

Matt Davies, Norwich Fringe Project co-ordinator, said: “This really has been a fantastic project and I can’t give enough praise to the local community who have played such a vital part in making it all happen.

“There is a real sense of ownership with local people wanting to be active in the management of the marsh - it really has brought people together.”