Meeting will consider future of Colwall bridge (From Malvern Gazette)

Meeting will consider future of Colwall bridge

3:06pm Tuesday 25th December 2007 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

REPRESENTATIVES from Network Rail and Herefordshire Council will be invited to a special meeting to discuss the medium and long-term future of Colwall railway bridge.

Members of Colwall Parish Council want to call a special meeting in January to discuss arrangements for the installation of a temporary bailey bridge, and timescales and action plans to repair or replace the existing bridge.

The bridge was re-opened to light traffic earlier in December, but a weight limit of three tonnes means many vehicles are still having to take lengthy detours on narrow country roads.

Coun Wil (correct) Leaper said both authorities had to consider the next move carefully.

"I can understand how at various stages of this problem it appeared that the best option would be to get it open as soon as possible using a bailey bridge," he said. "But for me, paying nearly half a million pound for something that we might dismantle in a relatively short time might not be the best option."

Colwall Primary School has been suggested as a possible venue for the special council meeting. A date will be agreed early in the New Year, when the results of a detailed bridge inspection commissioned by Herefordshire Council have been announced.