Colchester Cowdray Bridge will keep temporary fencing | Gazette
Cowdray Bridge, which connects Cowdray Avenue to the Ipswich Road roundabout, is legally required to have high fences as the structure crosses a railway line.
But resident Alex Miles has said the metal fencing currently in place was only ever suppose do be a temporary measure.
Fencing has now been in place for nearly a decade[1] despite Mr Miles claiming he was told by Essex Highways that a permanent solution was being worked on.
Residents have branded the fencing “dangerous” and “an eyesore”.
Before – up until 2014, the bridge did not have metal fencing (Image: Google Street View)
An email seen by the Gazette which was sent by Tom Cunningham, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and sustainable transport, suggests there are no short-term or medium-term plans to deal with the metal fencing which has been in place since 2014.
It read: “Due to the current requirement to determine the condition of the structure and feasibility to carry out any repairs, no further works are proposed in the short to medium term to replace the currently installed fencing to Cowdray Avenue.
“While the fencing installed is a temporary solution and not the ultimate desired solution, I’m sure you can appreciate that the fencing was installed to provide increased safety to the public in the interim following a request from Network Rail.”
After – the current fencing, in place as a safety measure, has been described as an eyesore (Image: Google Street View)
Mr Miles, however, was not impressed by the decision, with the 56-year-old accusing Essex County Council of being “lazy”.
He said: “It has been a complete dog’s dinner.
“It compresses the pedestrians and cycle paths together – it’s so dangerous and it looks awful.
“The Ipswich Road roundabout upgrade was supposed to bring it up to scratch, and now Essex Highways has got back to me and said they can’t be bothered and will leave it as it is – it’s such a cop-out.”
Essex Highways was contacted for comment.
References
- ^ Fencing has now been in place for nearly a decade (www.gazette-news.co.uk)