LET US SEE BRIDGE VOTE

28 February 2005

The Lib Dems in Swansea are economical with the truth. Councillor Chris Holley said on Swansea Sound on Sunday, February 13, that most of the consultation cards on the slip bridge issue that were returned were in favour of the bridge being put back at its original site.

But because only two per cent responded, they were disregarded.

After a cabinet meeting the Lib Dems informed the Evening Post on February 18 that a public consultation failed to find a consensus on what to do with the slip bridge, so the cabinet decided to resite it.

In a democratic voting structure, the Aye and No votes should be independently counted and published for all to see.

The Lib Dems are trying to override the citizens of Swansea before the votes have been made public and we have yet to see the figures on the consultation votes.

Their decision to move the slip bridge against the people's wishes is outside their authority.

E Ford
Middle Road
Gendros
Swansea

CONFUSION OVER BRIDGE

26 February 2005

While I am pleased that the Slip Bridge has escaped oblivion, I am confused over its proposed new location "alongside the cycle path, opposite St Helen's". Also if it is going to be, "something that will be used by everyone", what will it stand on?

As to the various costs which have been quoted, I am even more confused. If one considers the costs of placing the bridge on the recreation ground; the cost of a new installation; the expense of dismantling the old abutments and the amount of money spent on the survey, one cannot help but come to the conclusion that it would have been more sensible to have repaired the bridge in situ!

Had this been done, the new administration would have scored on three important issues:

1. Tourism - attractive kiosks selling ice-cream and so on could have been installed under the arches;
2. Culture preservation of a valuable and rare piece of heritage; and,
3. Public relations - we would have applauded them for decisiveness and they could have capitalised on their election victory. Shame.

Mrs M McGrane
Highpool Close
Newton
Swansea

PUT THE SLIP BRIDGE BACK

23 February 2005

Those who speak by the yard and think by the inch should be kicked by the foot, were my thoughts on Swansea Council's decision to move the Slip Bridge to another site. It was like celebrating New Year's Eve on April 1.

It makes one wonder where all the money to pay for this has suddenly come from.Has someone got a genie in the lamp?

Will the council truthfully inform its citizens why they want to relocate the Slip Bridge?

Do they realise the cost of removing the bridge in its entirety would be much more than the initial quote?

The Slip Bridge must be replaced in its original location, it would be the cheapest method and in 10 years' time we will celebrate its centenary.

E Ford
Middle Road
Gendros
Swansea

WE MUST ASSIST THE COUNCIL

23 February 2005

Congratulations to Councillor Holley and his colleagues. They inherited many problems from their predecessors. Two main issues are the leisure centre and Slip Bridge.

The people of Swansea had put their faith in them and they have not let them down.

They have decided to resurrect the leisure centre - like a phoenix from the ashes.

Now, the bridge that I visited many times as a child, and have walked over every Sunday for the past 15, years will be moved.

I see how the view will open up when it is gone.

I believe we must be realistic and assist the council with this problem by saying goodbye to this old friend and remembering her glory days when thousands walked her span every week.

Dennis O'Neill
Inkerman Street
St Thomas
Swansea

BRIDGE BID SCUPPERED BY TOILET DEMOLITION

Chris Davies - 22 February 2005

Swansea's landmark Slip Bridge failed to secure listed status because of the demolition of its adjacent toilet block, it was claimed today. Council leader Chris Holley has revealed that the removal of the public conveniences when it was situated in its original position on Oystermouth Road meant that it was not deemed significant enough by heritage body Cadw to gain listed status on its own.

The toilets were built in the 1920s, the same era as the Guildhall, and featured large marble urinals and mosaics.

They were demolished overnight as part of redevelopment work with the bridge following them in a move in March last year due to the need for heavy refurbishment.

It is claimed Cadw was unwilling to give the bridge alone listed status.

Eileen Walton, of Swansea's Civic Society, said: "It would have been nice if we could have got listed status for the bridge, but it was down to the removal of the toilets, and of the original signal box many years ago."It is easy now to say what should have been done in retrospect, but it is still a shame.

"It would have reflected the bridge as a symbol of the past and a piece of history.

"But we have at last got a decision on its future, and we must try to bring together the past with the present."

Last week the uncertainty surrounding the bridge was finally resolved when councillors agreed to relocate it on a new home alongside the cycle path opposite St Helen's ground at an expected cost of £100,000.

A planning application for the transfer across Oystermouth Road from its current home on the Recreation ground next to St Helen's will now be submitted.

The move comes after almost a year of speculation over its future.Swansea Civic Society has conceded defeat in that battle but is now focussing its energies elsewhere.

The group is now trying to locate a Victorian archway which was situated near to the Slip Bridge and was also removed.

"It was a large wrought-iron archway, which led towards the park.

"It dates back to the Victorian era, and it is things like this, and the bridge, that we must preserve to remember our past.

"So far we have had not have any success in finding out what happened to it."

The society has now asked the council to assist it in its search.

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

22 February 2005

It would be nice to see all councillors work together for the benefit of Swansea, its citizens, its heritage and its future.

We really do not want to see councillors trying to score political points by standing on the picket line (as in the dispute over Service@Swansea) or blaming the present administration for decisions made by the previous administration. We have been told by the present administration that the Slip Bridge is regarded as a part of Swansea's heritage and should be replaced.

Councillor Mike Hedges also assures us (Have Your Say, February 17) "that the previous Labour administration wanted to replace a bridge that it considered a Swansea landmark" and that money was made available for repairing and replacing the bridge.

So why is the bridge still rusting away on the Recreation Ground?If insufficient money has been provided, then either the estimated cost of £690,000 is over-inflated to strengthen the argument for removing the bridge or the council's engineers got their sums wrong. Whichever, the shortfall could be found from the council or even from public subscription (a sure way of measuring public support).

There has been a shameful waste of £35,000 in conducting a public consultation exercise which was so heavily biased that the council should have got an overwhelming vote in favour of removing the bridge. Instead the council is not prepared to publish the results of the survey.

There has also been much public speculation that the bridge was removed to improve the view from the newly built flats.

But Councillor Hedges denies this, saying that "the sensible thing to have done would have been to remove the bridge before the land was sold".

So this beggars the question as to how much money has the council lost on the land value by removing the bridge after the land was sold.

Or, to put it another way, how much money has the developer saved by buying the land before the bridge was removed?

The Slip Bridge was and is one of the few remaining pieces of Swansea's heritage.

It should be fully restored. The idea that it should be placed somewhere else along the promenade is just hare-brained.

Mike Stroud
Gabalfa Road
Sketty
Swansea

AT LAST, A NEW SITE FOR SLIP

Chris Davies - 18 February 2005

Swansea's landmark Slip Bridge IS to get a new home. Cabinet members have agreed to relocate it to a new home alongside the cyclepath opposite the St Helen's ground.

Yesterday's decision followed more than a year of deliberations on what should be done with the bridge.

The Post revealed in December 2003 that it had deteriorated badly and needed heavy investment.

A public consultation failed to find a consensus on what to do with the bridge. But now Swansea's cabinet has backed plans for its new home.

Councillor Gerald Clement, the cabinet member for culture and recreation, said they have now given it back to all of Swansea not just the able bodied.

He said had it returned to its home spanning Oystermouth Road disabled people would not have been able to use it.

Councillor Clement said: "There will be elements that wouldn't be satisfied apart from the restoration of the bridge in its original place.

"What we have come up with will satisfy most people.

"Had we put the bridge back in its own place we have would have been going contrary to disabled access provision that we should comply with.

"Now all people will be able to use the bridge and enjoy the architecture within it.

"This is something to be used by everyone."

The bridge, which is nearly 100 years old, was removed from its abutments and placed on the rec ground next to St Helen's last March.

A consultation exercise was launched in October to gauge public opinion on three options.

The council said that restoring the bridge to its former glory would cost £690,000 with a maintenance cost of £250,000 over 10 to 15 years.

Another option was a replica replacement billed at £350,000 with a £75,000 maintenance package needed over the same period.The third option was to not put it back. No clear favourite could be decided so the council put forward a plan to install it next to the cycle path.

It is expected to cost £100,000, well within the £300,000 budget set aside for it.Council leader Chris Holley, speaking at yesterday's cabinet meeting, said had the council opted to restore the bridge to its original glory it would have meant cutting services elsewhere.

He said: "It is very easy for people to knock but when you have to make decision on budgets the total cost of restoration would have meant taking money out of things like social services or education budget."

The cabinet agreed to push forward the plans and apply for planning permission to put the bridge in its new home.

Councillor John Newbury, the cabinet member for finance, said: "I am pleased to see that Councillor Hague has come up with a solution which I think will satisfy a majority of people in Swansea.

"I haven't seen the layout on computer yet which will give a better idea of how it will look but it really is a welcome move and one which I think the people of Swansea will enjoy once it is in place."

COMPLETELY POINTLESS

18 February 2005

I Will be surprised if I am the only person in Swansea who thinks that the council's plan to place the Slip Bridge along the promenade is a little like giving someone a fork to eat a bowl of soup! Completely pointless. Surely the purpose of a bridge is to span a large gap.What a ludicrous waste of public money.Put the bridge in a place where it is needed or scrap it.

Lee HopkinsHeather CrescentSketty, Swansea

PULLING THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES

17 February 2005

I Tend to agree with H Davies, of Mount Pleasant, in his view that Swansea Council is trying to pull the wool over our eyes about the Slip Bridge (Have Your Say, February 3).

There is far too much secrecy involved. What is behind all these other plans to sell off land and schools? All we seem to hear about are closures and buildings being pulled down or sold off.

Dynevor School was closed and now Bishop Gore could go the same way.

Will our children benefit or will the council just get richer?

What worries me is that the news comes out in dribs and drabs. It feels like our city is slowly being sold off to the pawnbrokers.

Colin Rees
Overland Road
Mumbles
Swansea

ANSWERS TO SLIP QUERIES

17 February 2005

Mr Stroud (Have Your Say, February 11) asks several questions regarding the Slip Bridge. The answers are as follows. The amount made available for the restoration of the bridge was the amount estimated by the council's engineers and recommended to cabinet for its repair and placing back where it had come from.

It was not necessary to remove the whole span to remove all the concrete and replace it but it would have meant closing Mumbles Road for several weeks while it was done. I am sure Mr Stroud is in a small minority who wanted the work done in situ and the road closed for several weeks.

The angle of the flats was set in the planning application and if the intention was to improve the view the sensible thing to have done would have been to remove the bridge before the land was sold, not after the flats were built.

The fact is that the previous Labour administration wanted to replace a bridge that we considered a Swansea landmark and the new Liberal Democrat-led administration does not.

Councillor Mike J Hedges
County Hall
Swansea

CITY GEM IS IN DANGER

14 February 2005

Here we go again. Will the truth about the Slip Bridge ever be known? A recent letter from Councillor Hedges tells us that there was money set aside for the repair of the bridge.

That's the first I've heard of this! This statement raised several questions:Was it enough?

Why has the previous administration not put pressure on the present rules to get on with the repair work?

What will happen to the money if the bridge is not put back in its rightful place?

And, what about answering the question, which has been raised time and time again, concerning the infamous survey.

Why, if the majority of the respondents were in favour of replacing the bridge, has work not yet begun?

One of your correspondents mentioned the Patti Pavilion.

I was there in November for the Green Fair and it was plain to see the building is not being cared for.

Will the citizens of Swansea lose yet another cultural gem due to the irresponsibility of the council?

M McGrane
Highpool Close
Newton
Swansea

SO MANY QUESTIONS

11 February 2005

We are assured by Councillor Mike Hedges (Have Your Say, February 3) that the previous Swansea council administration intended to replace the Slip Bridge and the money estimated for its repair was made available. Councillor Hedges does not say how much.

Shame on all those cynics (myself included) who thought that there was a hidden agenda to remove the slip Bridge.

It must have been pure coincidence that the new flats were built at such an angle that their view would be greatly enhanced by the removal of the bridge.

Of course, such cynicism is understandable. It was the same administration which assured us that the leisure centre was only going to be closed for a fortnight and there was certainly a hidden agenda there.

Curiously, Councillor Hedges tells us that there was a safety issue as pieces of concrete were falling off the buttresses.Why was is necessary to remove the steel span?

With the new Freedom of Information Act all the documents relating to this saga should be open for public scrutiny.

There are many questions to be answered.

M R Stroud
Gabalfa Road
Sketty
Swansea

BRIDGE TOO FAR FROM HOME

Evening Post Editorial - 11 February 2005

Swansea Council's decision not to send the Slip Bridge to the scrap merchant in the sky is a compromise. The bridge will not be returning to its former home at the Slip in Oystermouth Road.Instead it will be placed further along the promenade in Mumbles Road, possibly near the car park at the bottom of Sketty Lane.

It is a nice idea because it means it will be walked by hundreds of people using the foreshore path every day.

But there are those who will not be happy because for them the bridge was all about happy, youthful days when they used it to cross over railways to the beach.

At least they will have the recompense of seeing the bridge put to better use. But the move will reinforce many people's belief that there was only one reason it was taken down in the first place.

That was because it spoiled the view of people living in the new flats built on the site of the old St Helen's swimming pool.

MIXED VIEWS ON SLIP BRIDGE PLANS

10 February 2005

New plans for Swansea's Slip Bridge will cost around £300,000, according to council bosses.

They say the decision not to return the bridge to its home spanning Oystermouth Road will not cost any extra money. Cash put aside by the former Labour administration will cover the cost of finding it a new home on the promenade.

The figure is more than a third more than the one originally quoted by council chiefs. But the decision has not met with support across the board.

Bernard Morris, of Derwen Fawr, has been campaigning for the return of the popular bridge.

He is disappointed that it will not be returning to its prominent position above one of Swansea's busiest road.

Mr Morris said: "I think the significance of the Slip Bridge was that it was there spanning the road as a familiar landmark distinctive to Swansea. To put it over what is probably going to be a smaller gap seems rather pointless."

The new plans for the bridge were unveiled at a presentation yesterday.

It came after a three-month consultation costing £35,000.

A questionnaire asking for people's views on three options was sent out to Swansea homes.

It quoted a bill of £690,000 to restore it with a further £250,000 in maintenance needed over 10 to 15 years. A replica bridge would have cost £350,000 to build and £75,000 in maintenance for a similar period. But no unanimous support for a single solution could be found.

So the council has decided to opt for a compromise.

Council leader Chris Holley said the council was now looking at a number of possible sites as a new home for the bridge on the promenade and it hoped to be submitting plans soon.

He said: "It is going to come within the £300,000 budget that was put aside by Labour."

But despite the bid to keep everyone happy, supporters of the bridge will not be too pleased that it is not going to be retaking its prominent position alongside the Swansea Bay.T

hey see the decision to place it along the promenade as a consolation prize. Mr Morris said: "If they do this it will retain the bridge as a feature, which people will relate to, but it is still not satisfactory."It's the third or fourth best result."

REPLICA IS BEST OPTION

9 February 2005

Following the consultation on the future of the Slip Bridge, has Swansea Council considered one of the cheaper options, of replacing it with a replica on the same site? I believe it would be a civic tragedy if the bridge and all traces of it, the supports and steps, were to disappear from the Swansea Bay landscape forever.

I personally favoured the restoration of the original bridge, but if this has not got majority support and is deemed too expensive, I would urge the council seriously to consider the compromise, replica option.

Richard Teulon
Spring Terrace
Swansea

YET ANOTHER LANDMARK DISAPPEARING

07 February 2005

Here we go again. More council spin designed to soften us up in advance of yet another Swansea landmark disappearing. Instead of having the guts to come out with a straightforward statement about the future of the Slip Bridge, we have the usual rule nothing in, rule nothing out verbiage from Swansea Council leader Chris Holley.

It is obvious that he and his colleagues never had any intention of putting back this historic structure. They have just wasted time and public money on a pointless consultation exercise and should be surcharged by the district auditor.

It is scandalous that we have a council administration that is so determined to dismantle the plans of their Labour predecessors that they are also blindly destroying our heritage.

Julian Morris
Victoria Quay
Maritime Quarter
Swansea

WE'LL FIGHT TO SAVE BRIDGE

03 February 2005

According to the Evening Post we may be losing the Slip Bridge. The main cause for complaint seems to be expense. Does the council really believe it can hoodwink the people of Swansea in this way?

The longer the bridge is sitting in exile, the more work will need to be done to it. The bridge was removed for no real reason, supposedly needing examination.

It looked all right to most people when it landed on the Recreation Ground.

So are we in danger of losing another of our landmarks. I hope not.

What will we have left for this council to remove at will? There's the Guildhall for a start, that's a beautiful building - it can be replaced with one of those 20-storey glass boxes.

Then there is the beautiful Cenotaph. We mustn't forget the Patti Pavilion either, perhaps that will be next.

Swansea is becoming a tawdry conglomeration of drinking clubs and very little is done for the beauty of the city, we only have to look at Castle Square as proof of that.

We will fight to save the Slip Bridge.

Save our city and make it a lovely place for us to live and people to visit. Put back the Slip Bridge.

H Davies
Penygraig Road
Mount Pleasant
Swansea

CIVIC SOCIETY'S LAST-DITCH PLEA TO SAVE BRIDGE

Shaun Greaney - 02 February 2005

Swansea Council has been urged to pursue every avenue to save the city's treasured Slip Bridge from the scrapheap. Following reports that the bridge's fate is almost certainly sealed, the city's Civic Society has now stepped in with a last-ditch plea.

The council is understood to be put off by the cost of restoring the bridge.

But now the Civic Society says there are options which could offer a solution to cabinet member for the environment Councillor John Hague, under whose wing the bridge falls.

Society secretary Eirwen Harry said the possibilities were "many and varied", including Cadw, which although it did not list the bridge in 2004, could still offer grants for buildings of historic interest.

She added: "The Architectural Heritage Fund can assist with grants and lists funding available from various charities on its website."

A list of about a dozen organisations has been sent to Mr Hague in the hope that he may be able to seek out possibly substantial help in undertaking the bridge repairs.

An expert's report into the future of the bridge is being finalised. The council has been warned to expect a backlash if the option of restoring the bridge is abandoned.

The authority last year spent £35,000 on distributing a questionnaire in Swansea asking what the public wanted to happen to the bridge.

It asked if people were in favour of complete removal of the bridge at a cost of £30,000; a £690,000 refurbishment scheme with £250,000 maintenance over 10 to 15 years or a £350,000 replacement.

Some 8,500 people replied.

It is thought there is a fairly even split in terms of the responses received for and against saving the bridge.