A most bizarre and fascinating meeting took place on Colwall Green Bridge yesterday, Friday 26th October. Brought about because of intense pressure put on MP Bill Wiggin by Colwall residents at a recent surgery in the village, the MP had brought together the main protagonists for an extraordinary meeting on a cold, October afternoon.

Colwall Green Bridge

Part Three: Question Time

Video produced by John Eager for the Ledbury Portal.

MP Bill Wiggin hosted an eventful and unforgettable meeting on Colwall Green Bridge to bring the decision makers together to converse with Colwall residents.

Herefordshire Councillor Roy Stockton told the assembled that Herefordshire Council had 724 bridges to maintain and that Colwall's bridge was now their number one priority.

Colwall residents couldn't understand why work had not been undertaken on the bridge after a 1998 report identified that the bridge was understrength. Since then 40 ton vehicles have been allowed to use the bridge over the railway.

In August of this year the bridge was suddenly closed to all traffic, including pedestrians. After intense pressure on Herefordshire Council pedestrians were allowed to cross the bridge.

The Three major concerns highlighted by the villagers were:

• Elderly residents in Colwall Green not being able to access shops and services in Colwall.

• The roads around Colwall becoming dangerous due to excess traffic and heavy goods vehicles using the country lanes. One resident described an accident he had recently had. Residents reported that there was an average of one per accident a day, with one car a week being written off.

• The financial hardship of businesses in Colwall whose trade had dropped dramatically.

On the latter Councillor Stockton was asked if the Council could give financial assistance to these businesses, such as a council tax break. The councillor replied in the negative.

Colwall Green Bridge is owned by Network Rail, while Herefordshire Council have the responsibility for the highway that runs over the bridge. Colwall residents were told by Chris Mair, the Public Affairs Manager for Network Rail that a new bridge would not be built until 2010-11.

Both Network Rail and Herefordshire Council were now awaiting the results of the safety survey before deciding further action. The results would not be known by December this year.

The Colwall residents felt this was too slow and demanded a quicker resolution to the problem. Either the bridge should be re-opened for light vehicles or a Bailey bridge should be quickly erected. On the issue of the Bailey bridge Mr Jackson of Herefordshire Council said that the idea had been looked at and passed over to Network Rail.

It would appear that the Council and Network Rail have been stalling on the subject of the Bailey bridge as they await the outcome of the results of the present survey. A Bailey bridge, the residents were told, would cost about £450,000 to build and erect and would take three months to fabricate.

The Colwall residents told Herefordshire Council and Network Rail that this delay was unnacceptable. Eventually the crowd were promised by Network Rail and Herefordshire Council that the decision on the Bailey bridge would be made in the next 10-15 days and the county council representatives agreed that this was the most likely solution.