Bridge to re-open in time for school (From Malvern Gazette)

Bridge to re-open in time for school

9:00am Saturday 1st September 2007 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

PARENTS are breathing a sigh of relief after hearing their children will be able to use the Colwall railway bridge to get to school.

Herefordshire Council closed the bridge to all traffic almost three weeks ago, and it had been feared that youngsters would have to cross the railway tracks to get to Colwall Primary when term starts on Wednesday.

However following lobbying from villagers and Colwall Parish Council, county engineers re-examined the bridge and held discussions with Network Rail before announcing that the bridge would re-open to pedestrians.

Parish clerk Charlie Walker said the announcement was good news for parents and children.

"It's great to hear, but it is only the first part of the battle and there are a few steps still to go," he said. "It is a victory for people power. They took some persuading but Herefordshire Council has listened and responded.

"We urge them to tackle the other work that needs to be done to restore the bridge with the same haste."

Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation, said the council had plans in place in case they had not been able to open the bridge to pedestrians.

"The safety of our schoolchildren will always be a prime concern, and we promised from the outset to explore every possibility to ensure they had a journey to and from school which was as safe and easy as possible," he said. "We apologise, however, for the disruption to road traffic and we do appreciate that the bridge closure separates what is a strong community.

"A programme for repairs is being put together and we intend to restore the bridge as soon as possible - but it is likely to be a few months before it can be re-opened to any vehicles."

Coun Wilcox said they would continue to monitor the bridge, and would review the decision if there was any risk to safety.