Dudley Zoo planning new walkway for better access

Bosses said the scheme was being developed to help people with mobility problems and parents with pushchairs to navigate the site.

A planning application has gone into Dudley Council for the works. Dudley Zoological Gardens chief executive Peter Suddock said that the walkway would link Penguin Bay to the Reptile House, allowing visitors to bypass a set of steep steps beside the 11th century castle.

He added: "We know from customers' feedback that the steps, which were constructed in 1937 when the zoo opened, are difficult to negotiate with buggies and the walkway will offer a direct and level solution to get visitors across this part of the site."

A main pedestrian routes at the zoo passes between bear and reptile enclosures and connects these areas to the penguin enclosure.

The route is steep in places and has two flights of stairs set into the hill.

This makes one of the main routes through the complex particularly difficult for wheelchairs, pushchairs and the elderly.

Instead, the zoo wants to replace the route with a timber walkway that begins beside the reptile house and ends at the top of the old stairs, meaning a step-free access to the penguin house which is higher up the hill.

The £15,000 walkway, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, would be made of decking and will take staff up to six weeks to build.

Mr Suddock added: "Once planning consent is obtained we will begin construction in the New Year and aim to have the walkway in use by the start of the Easter season."

The proposed walkway would fall within the Castle Hill and Town Centre Conservation Areas, although it would not impact on any listed buildings at the site.

Dudley Zoological Gardens houses a large collection of endangered species and an 11th century castle at its Castle Hill site. The application must now be approved by Dudley Council.

By Sharon Marris