A KIOSK boss described the reopening of some of the paths in Sunnyhurst Woods destroyed in a landslide as 'a relief'.

Lindsey Chapman, owner of The Old England Kiosk said the landslide, which saw hundreds of tonnes of trees and earth collapse into a stream, had had a detrimental impact on her business.

Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods announced that two paths have been re-opened are available for public use a year after the incident.

Hayley Kilpatrick, chairman of the friends group, said: “ We’re very pleased to say the North Path near the stables and the main central path are now open.

“We are ecstatic about it we really are, not just for ourselves but for the public.

“ We want to say thank you United Utilities and Blackburn with Darwen Council for keeping us in the loop about everything.

“We are planning a celebratory event for when all the paths are open.”

The landslide occurred near Earnsdale Reservoir and the friends group said that an indoor reservoir that holds three million litres of water had been undercut.

The incident temporarily cut off water supply to thousands of residents and path closures were put in place for the foreseeable future.

Mrs Chapman said: “It’s a big relief to hear some of the paths are open again.

“The landslide has had a massive impact on business because people don’t think it’s safe to be in the woods.

“United Utilities said it was going to be a couple of years before the work was finished so it’s good to see progress."

A United Utilities spokesman said: “Following the landslip in Sunnyhurst Wood last year we had to close a number of footpaths to keep the public safe while we carried out our work.

“The landslip took place close to our pumping station.

“Over the last 12 months we’ve installed a temporary bypass pipe to keep Darwen supplied with drinking water while we relocated our water main away from the slip area.

“We installed a temporary footpath to allow access to certain paths away from our working area and now we’ve almost completed the main relocation work, we’ve been able to open up the footpaths on the opposite side of the landslip area for the public to use.

“Once we’ve completed the main relocation work we’ll be able to open further footpaths.

“Our next phase of work is to re-stabilise the slope where the landslip took place."

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