Lower Bedser Bridge opening seals residents' victory

The long wait is finally over.  Almost a year since the old bridge over the Basingstoke Canal in Horsell closed (23 April 2012) the Bedser Bridge is open.  

There was general delight among residents of Horsell as a lower bridge that fits its environment was opened.  "This seals the residents' victory won when 2000 people responded to a consultation on the bridge" said Cllr. Ann-Marie Barker.

Initial reactions to news the bridge had opened:

Cllr Ann-Marie Barker is delighted the lower bridge
that fits its environment is finally open over the canal

"That shortens my walk to the station in the morning"

"It looks impressive"

"Woo"

"That's good"

Waiting for the opening

We were promised our new bridge in "early 2013" and indeed i had heard it was hoped to complete the work by late 2012.  January came and went and there was no sign of the new bridge or any updated information.  I chased up the opening date with Woking Council but their answer to me and residents who enquired was seemingly stuck in the groove of "early 2013".

In late March I heard the bridge was likely to open soon after Easter, then checks called for a few corrections and the opening was going to be a week or so ago. Finally the magic date of Monday 15 April emerged.  I updated residents of this possibility at the Residents Association AGM last Friday and was promptly chastised by a Conservative councillor for informing people that the opening of the bridge was imminent.

History of the Bedser Bridge

The opening of the Bedser Bridge seals a series of events that began back in September 2011.  As I blogged at the time I had a shock when I returned from holiday in early September and settled down to read my latest Council papers.  For the first time I saw a visual of the bridge planned to cross the canal.  It was high up in the air, 5 feet higher than the old bridge; access was via a very long ramp that ran most of the length of the car park site or many stairs and it looked like a motorway bridge.  

I set about gathering the views of others across Horsell and beyond.  There was general dissatisfaction and a petition was set up to ask the Council to think again.  Under the weight of dissent the Conservative run Council gave way and held a consultation on changing the bridge design.  Over 2000 responses later they agreed to get the bridge redesigned.  My blog post on this victory for residents was posted in December 2011.

Shock at Conservatives

I was rather shocked at the sheer brass neck of our local Conservatives when I saw their party website today.  They give a very partial view of the history of this bridge.  I've picked out a few choice lines:

"... Horsell councillors Beryl Hunwicks and Tony Branagan were among the first people to get a look at the new bridge ..."

Hardly surprising as no doubt they were told in advance exactly when the bridge would be open.  A service not afforded to opposition councillors or the general public   I got a call from a resident to tell me the bridge was open at 12.45 on Monday.  I got a press release from the Council 4 hours later!

"The bridge has also been designed to be free of steps, as specified by a motion made to Woking Borough Council by Conservative leader John Kingsbury last year."

Yes that motion was proposed by the Leader but only after I had made the public aware of what was being proposed and concerns were raised.  Our local Conservative councillors also seem to have missed the point that, until the WWF HQ is complete you can only get from the bridge to the towpath by means of several steps.

"I know that not everyone believed it would be open in early spring as we said ..."

No we expected it to be open "early in 2013" as you said and the public has been requesting updated information since the beginning of the year.  We were told the work would take 9 months or 40 weeks and it has been just a week short of 12 months.  Hardly on time.

But, the bridge is there and the long walk around is over.  Let's celebrate.