AFTER two years of hard work, a woodland footpath in the centre of Okehampton was officially opened on Saturday.

The Clapps Wood footpath now opens an off-road footpath link from Westbridge Close to Lodge Hill. The path has been closed to the public for a number of years.

Christine Marsh is a keen advocate of the project, as a member of the town council and the Okement Rivers Improvement Group.

'It has been a long journey to get here,' she said.

'A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work, many of them volunteers offering up their time and skills for nothing.

'It is just great to see it now finally ready to open and for people to enjoy.'

The deal has been worked through by Okehampton Town Council, West Devon Borough Council and a private land owner to allow permissive right of way through the wood.

Town mayor Cllr the Rev Mike Davies said: 'I am really pleased to be able to open Clapps Wood.

'It has been closed for quite some time and for the people of Okehampton it is great that they can now walk through the wood once again.

'It has been quite a journey in purchasing the land but I am pleased to say we got there in the end.

'A big thank you to all those involved in making it happen.'

The town council agreed a deal to purchase Clapps Wood from the borough council in 2011 for £4,000.

The land had become overgrown with laurel, an invasive plant which contaminates the ground and prevents other plant species from growing.

Volunteers from the Okement Rivers Improvement Group, and local people took on the arduous task of clearing the site of laurel trees in their own free time.

The stumps have been treated by the park keeper, and over £2,000 of dangerous trees have been felled.

The opening of the footpath is the latest part of an interesting history for the wood.

Old maps show the wood was a private park for the workers of the Clapps Mill, an old corn mill with two water wheels and five pairs of mill stones.

The mill was eventually turned into a boot making factory by William Burd German, with a water powered turbine to generate electricity.

The factory became one of the largest employers in the region, and premises at West Bridge, the Parade and the Arcade sold boots made at the factory.

The business flourished until the 1950s, when more modern methods made the factory outdated.

As the factory closed in 1955 and the various buildings were demolished, the wood was left to become overgrown.

The borough council purchased the land in the 1990s to make a footpath, but only now has the project been fully realised.

Thanks were expressed to South West Highways, Ross Campbell, Bob Chapman, Tristan Knott, Ian Brett of Oakland Treecare, The Grange Equestrian Centre and Carol Barkwill for all their assistance in bringing the footpath project to completion.