Bridging the gap

ELECTED members met with council officials last week to discuss the best way forward for the proposed Annan footbridges.

Annandale South councillors Sean Marshall, Richard Brodie and George Jamieson explained how the Annan A Tale of Two Bridges group (ATOTB) were unable to proceed without the council agreeing to take on any ownership of a newly built structure.

The Cuthbertson Memorial and Diamond Jubilee bridges were washed away in 2021 during extreme weather. Work has been ongoing ever since to replace them.

Following last week’s discussions, Cllr Marshall believes there is now a clear route forward, with a further meeting in order to create a memorandum of understanding.

This document would give detail of each group’s responsibilities and state that the council would adopt any new footbridge.

Cllr Marshall said: “The next stage is a meeting with a couple of relevant officers from the council and ATOTB, the four Annandale South councillors will also be involved. That meeting will be to look at how we go forward.”

He added: “I think what we are getting is the green light for the ATOTB group and ourselves to come up with a memorandum of understanding.

“What we got from the meeting (last week) is an indication that the council are willing to look at the adoption of a bridge.

“There are no red flags at the moment. (The memorandum of understanding) will also cover some of the legal aspects. I think it will be clear. It will lay out the steps for how we proceed.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The council recognises the ambition and effort of the ATOTB Group and remains committed to supporting them as they take forward the next stage of their project.

“To ensure continuity and a smooth transition, this support includes ongoing advisory assistance through various services to help the group to explore funding options and develop their proposals, including developing a business case, business plan and funding strategy.”

ATOTB chairman Stuart Thompson was happy with the news, but believes some key questions still remain.

He said: “All credit to the elected members, they sat down with the council and they have hopefully decided a positive way forward. “We now need to sit down with them and assess the finer details.

“At the end of the day, there’s still a question mark over who’s going to inspect, maintain and own any new bridge.

“If this meeting proves positive we can then move on the next stage and look at land acquisition and funding applications.”

People are still being encouraged to sign the group’s petition. It can be accessed online at change.org/p/annan-a-tale-of-two-bridges, while paper copies are at various shops on Annan High Street.