A FIVE-year battle to re-open a Lindley footpath has finally been won by residents.

Not only is the path, which runs from Farnlee, off Plover Road, to Lidget Street in the village centre, now fully open, but more people than ever are already using it.

LibDem Councillor Christine Stansfield, who spearheaded the campaign to get it re-opened, has just announced that Kirklees has agreed to set aside money to resurface the path.

Work will take place early in the new financial year, probably later in April or May. The new covering will be a hard surface, suitable for both wheelchairs and pushchairs.

The footpath is now open and clear all the way to Sandmoor Drive, through one section which was previously impassable.

The owner of a nearby house claims that he never blocked the footpath, but it had lacked use and become unusable.

Further good news was that a large stone step which links two footpaths will also be removed when the track is resurfaced.

Clr Stanfield said: “The re-opening has been enormously welcomed by local residents. I have received numerous emails and telephone calls.

“More people are using it now than before and numbers are increasing. The more people who use the footpaths, the safer they become and we would encourage people to make use of them.

“It makes a real difference to peoples’ lives. It certainly shortens the route into the village and its amenities.

“The path is of huge importance to the people of Lindley and I am so pleased that residents are delighted.”

The legal process, which lasted over four years, included an appeal by the owner of the nearby house and a public enquiry which ended last October. This ruled that the path should be added to Kirklees Council’s official list of public rights of way – meaning that it must be kept open.