Wheelchair users, cyclists and parents with pushchairs will soon be able to enjoy access to an urban green space in Cleckheaton – thanks to a £14,000 improvement project.

A new stretch of path is due to be built at West End Park to help make the area more accessible to the whole community.

Three sides of the small park are already paved with tarmac, and the fourth side is grass, which becomes muddy and impassable in bad weather.

The new path will be laid on the fourth side to complete a circuit around the park. It will also form a foundation for future plans to create a fitness trail, a memorial walk and an art park in the area.

Funding for the project, which is being led by the Friends of West End Park, has come from Kirklees Councuil and The Veolia Environmental Trust, which has awarded a grant of £12,000 through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Building work is due to get under way on December 9 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Martin Webster, Friends of Cleckheaton Park chairman, said: "We are delighted that work is getting under way.

"The completion of the path circuit will increase use of the park by people with wheelchairs, prams and bicycles, and enable people to safely reach the benches that were recently installed.

"This project will bring us closer to delivering the next stage of our long-term plan to develop and improve the park for current and future generations of visitors."

Paul Taylor, executive director of The Veolia Environmental Trust, said: "Over the last five years we have awarded over GBP830,000 to community and environmental projects in West Yorkshire and it is great to hear that this one is starting.

"The new path will bring so many benefits to the community of Cleckheaton, making it safer and easier for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to access an urban green space."