Residents demand 'ugly' bridge plans are dismissed

Residents have demanded plans for a new bridge that would "trash the existing [river] landscape" to be thrown out.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has put forward plans to construct a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Tone.

It is due to link the Firepool and Coal Orchard regeneration sites via the existing cycle route.

More than 600 Taunton residents have signed a petition calling on the council to withdraw the plans.

They argued the bridge would not benefit the wider town centre and conflicts with the councils own policies.

The council said the existing bridge near the Morrisons supermarket cannot be widened or upgraded and that installing a new bridge would actually be cheaper than expanding the current one.

If approved, the new bridge, would be built between the Coal Orchard site (Riverside) and the Morrison's bandstand, joining up with the existing National Cycle Network route 3 along the River Tone.

Resident Martin Paikes told the council in a meeting on Wednesday February 15: "When you're organising a petition, you can tell from the first half hour what sort of response you're going to get and I think it's quite fair to say that people were horrified by this proposal.

"We went down near the [existing] bridge, we had your plans and your reports, and we were able to give people the facts there on site.

"[People] couldn't see why there was a need, they thought the existing bridge at Morrisons was not perfect, but quite adequate," he added.

He said the new bridge will be "only 70 metres away, and quite a large and ugly structure which will trash the existing landscape".

Councillor Mike Rigby said the bridge would encourage more people into the town centre and benefit local businesses.

"Part of our plans to revitalise the high street [in Taunton], is to create an active travel corridor all the way through the town from the railway station to Vivary Park.

"One of the pinch points in that currently is the ability to cross the River Tone without being on the road.

He said the existing bridge is "quite inadequate" for that purpose.

A final decision on the planning application for the new bridge will be taken by the new unitary Somerset Council, which will replace the current council on 1 April.

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