TIME TO BUTT OUT ON SAGA

26 July 2005

The Slip Bridge saga won't be over until the council admits it has made a mistake and demolishes the stone abutments. The bridge was deemed unsafe because bits were falling onto the road, and the abutments were loose with weeds growing through them.

Suddenly, 18 months later and at great cost, all three can be used again - separately!

I hope the council will reconsider the plans for developing the abutments and for once take on board what the people of Swansea want.

They must now realise that no-one wanted the bridge relocated to the promenade.

However, this had already taken place before any further plans were made for the abutments. The council must accept these are two ugly monstrosities and the seafront would be better off without them.

There have been many good articles in the Post regarding the farce of the Slip Bridge.

Jonathan Isaacs and Stuart Walters wrote good articles and letters - but both stopped short of mentioning the abutments.

If the council feels there is a need for towers and shops in this area, it should build new ones at one-storey level. Please don't block the fabulous view of our bay.

Many people I have spoken to have said how ugly these two pieces of stonework are. So, please, if you agree, some show of support would be appreciated.

Jayne Robinson, Neath Road, Plasmarl, Swansea

SLIP BRIDGE HOOLIGANISM

22 July 2005

Returning home after a few weeks away, I was saddened to see what may well be the worst case of mindless vandalism in the history of mindless vandalism. Before I left, the old Slip Bridge was simply an eyesore in the Recreation Ground, doing no more harm than taking up space.

Imagine my horror, then, on seeing that some louts had somehow managed to get the thing across the road and dump it on the promenade.Of course, it's always the aim of vandals to cause ugliness and inconvenience to the rest of us, but these yobs have surely gone beyond the pale.

I hope the police are working on this case with the urgency it deserves and are close to an arrest.

I'm sure all law-abiding people will join me in demanding the harshest possible punishment for these hooligans, as well as making them responsible for the cost of putting right the damage and nuisance they have caused.

John Jones
Goetre Fach Road
Swansea

SLIP UP OVER SLIP BRIDGE

20 July 2005

This week there has been much debate about the Slip Bridge being relocated. Sitting in the inevitable hot weather traffic jam on Oystermouth Road gives one time to reflect on how the powers that be missed an opportunity to relocate this historic bridge to Blackpill.

There it would have been put to good use in allowing parents and children to pass unhindered and unhindering from Clyne to the excellent and well used paddling pool.

Surely payback would come from the considerable reduction in pollution produced by thousands of idling cars and buses.

Tony Currell
Pwll Du Lane
Bishopston

TREE FELLING TO HOUSE BRIDGE IS 'VANDALISM'

20 July 2005

A Swansea councillor has rapped the felling of trees to make way for the repositioning of the city's Slip Bridge in Mumbles Road. The landmark has been switched from Oystermouth Road and incorporated in the foreshore footpath near Singleton Park.

West Cross ward councillor Des Thomas said he was particularly upset several trees had been felled to accommodate the structure.

Mr Thomas said he did not like the result of the work.

He said: "To remove so many mature trees which were part of a beautiful avenue and to replace them with such an ugly old structure of no architectural merit is surely an act of environmental vandalism."

CONCEDE DEFEAT ON BRIDGE

Graham Williams, columnist, 19 July 2005

Several people have approached me in recent weeks to ask why I have not broached the subject of the Slip Bridge in this column. Basically, there is a very simple reason inasmuch as I like to make these columns as lengthy as possible, and the whole sorry saga of the Slip Bridge can be summed up in just one word: ludicrous.

Some readers may recall that I did offer an opinion or two when the relocation of the bridge to its new site on the promenade was first announced some time ago.

It was a daft idea then and it is a daft idea now, and it will still be a daft idea when children, yobs and drunks begin falling from the highest points of the structure and clogging up the A &E unit at Morriston Hospital. Non-drying paint - what a brilliant idea. Does this mean that in a few weeks time it will be covered in grains of sand, dead leaves and empty crisp packets that have stuck to the metalwork?

I maintain that the council should either have put it back on the stone abutments or scrapped it altogether.Plonking it down in a prominent position on the seafront is no solution at all, and is as about as aesthetically pleasing as the notion of inviting the good citizens of Swansea to bring along their old fridges, cookers and rusting bicycles and setting them in concrete on the promenade.

Regular readers will have realised that I am something of a nostalgia freak and believe that Swansea's architectural heritage should be preserved.

I would even dispute the oft-repeated description of the bridge "lacking architectural merit", since in its original position it possessed a strength and a sense of purpose.

But what has been done with it now smacks of trying to preserve one's deceased pet dog by having it stuffed, mounted and placed on the hearth: it might bear a vague resemblance to what it had been during its lifetime, but it will never be the same again.

Better by far to concede defeat and give the poor thing some dignity in death.Truth to tell, I have never been a great one for the seafront in any case.

This weekend I visited the Maritime Quarter to watch some of the events held as part of the Swansea: A City That Dances festival and was genuinely shocked at the manner in which the physical approaches to the marina have been allowed to deteriorate.

The area surrounding the skateboard park at the side of the leisure centre, for example, has become a hugely intimidating and run-down stretch strewn with earth, wood chippings and black tyre marks made by boy racers, while the arches leading to the marina positively reek of despair (and worse).

It will undoubtedly remain like this until the leisure centre (perhaps the only example in the UK of a building which was constructed the wrong way around but no-one spotted the mistake until it was too late) is revamped and brought up to scratch.

Even then, however, the leisure centre will have its own built-in "lifespan" after which it will, after a few short decades, be declared unfit for its purpose. What a blessing that the likes of Sir Christopher Wren did not work to similar guidelines - after 20 odd years the dome of St Paul's would have been torn down and replaced by a branch of Lidl.

WASTE OF PUBLIC FUNDS

18 July 2005

I Read that Councillor Richard Lewis is reporting the former Labour cabinet to the Ombudsman for leasing a building in Swansea as an Activa gym because he feels that it was such a waste of money.

Will he therefore also be reporting his political colleague Chris Holley and his cabinet for a similar waste of public funds over the Slip Bridge consultation and for ignoring the majority view that wanted it reinstated?

Sylvia Edmunds
King Edward's Road, Swansea

PAINT SLIP UP WONT STOP CHILD CLIMBERS

18 July 2005 (Nino Williams)

Planners hoping to make a Swansea landmark childproof have slipped up, according to critics. They say children will still be able to scale the Slip Bridge, even though it is to be coated with anti-climb paint.

Swansea Council last week announced that the bridge - now in its new home opposite St Helen's - is to be coated with a special paint in a bid to prevent young people from potential injuries by climbing over it. The special paint is intended to make it virtually impossible to climb by remaining in a slippery gel form.

Signs are to be erected around the bridge warning people of the paint. But it has emerged that it will only be applied above two metres, to comply with manufacturers' and safety guidelines.

That would leave much of the bridge still available for youngsters to climb upon - at the risk of injury.

Chartered surveyor Gary Perkins said: "If the paint is only applied above adult head height, it means children will still be able to play upon the bridge.

"In fact, it could even become a challenge for them to prove they can climb upon it."I hope the council has a lot of insurance for potential claims.

"It just proves the whole project has been badly thought-out."

Mr Perkins also questioned how effective the paint would be when it becomes mixed with sand blown on to it.

But Swansea Council has hit back, saying the effect from sand will be negligible.

A council spokesman said: "The paint will prevent climbing where applied. It will not be affected unduly by sand. "There will be signs as appropriate, similar to the signs used at other locations where such paint is utilised.

"It would be logical to expect anti-climb paint to be applied to a structure like this as a safety precaution.

"The paint will only be on the upper surfaces, two metres above ground and over."It has not been painted yet. It will be in due course. The bridge is black to comply with planning consent."

SLIP BRIDGE WAS SLIP UP

18 July 2005

I would guess that the majority of the Swansea electorate was prepared to give the new council administration a reasonable opportunity to prove itself after having spent the previous 27 years in the wilderness. However, its policy of trying to please everybody has been a disaster during the last 12 months. Opinion as to whether the Slip Bridge should have been restored in its original location or scrapped are subjective, but no one I have spoken to has wanted it on the promenade.

It appears that the council is as out of touch with the electorate as were the French and Dutch governments in the recent European Union referenda.

As a Friend of Oystermouth Castle and the son of a Second World War Merchant Navy engineer, I feel that the cost of moving the bridge, £155,000 including consultation costs of £35,000, would have been better spent in part funding the four-year repair project at the castle, and not waiting six years before providing only £20,000 towards the cost of the Merchant Navy Memorial.

In addition, the Evening Post has published numerous letters from me and other tennis, bowls and netball players, detailing why the proposed change of use of the Swansea Tennis Centre is a ludicrous idea. If the council decides to proceed with this project it must repay the £650,000 owing to the Lawn Tennis Association and lose a £3 million grant from the Sports Council. This new facility will, therefore, become the most expensive in Europe.

Larry Owen
Westwinds
Mumbles
Swansea

AT LAST WE APPEAR TO BE GETTING SOMEWHERE

16 July 2005

Council leader Chris Holley admits they've got it wrong over the Slip Bridge but what he seems unable to grasp is that it was no surprise to the rest of us. Could it be that this confession was down to the fact that his former agent and longstanding Lib Dem colleague Gary Perkins voiced his concerns? Added to this is the fact that I understand Mr Perkins is a chartered surveyor and someone who couldn't be hoodwinked into a course of action that he knew to be professionally inappropriate.

What exactly did they get wrong? After all, it was in the Lib Dem Election Focus for Uplands Ward that they promised to reinstate the bridge, so I ask was it the 455-vote (5.3 per cent) majority who wanted the bridge refurbished and reinstated (not the two per cent that Councillor Holley insisted on Swansea Sound) that they seem unable to accept ? Or was it the £35,000 wasted on a consultation exercise that was ignored? Or could it be the fact that this administration, which purports to be open and fair, took the decision to relocate the bridge behind closed doors?

By the way, what's happened to the £350,000 put aside by the previous administration for the reinstatement of the bridge? No-one's mentioned that.

Add all these facts to the U-turn over the leisure centre and the parking fees fiasco and what have you got? More Holley's Follies.Now that Councillor Holley has admitted his mistake, I ask who is going to pay for it?

I, and presumably the majority of the people who voted in the consultation exercise would, I'm sure, agree it is unfair that the people of Swansea pick up the tab; so Councillor Holley, you botched it up, you cough up. Maybe in the future we won't have these rash decisions being made one day and unmade the next.

The bridge in its new location isn't even parallel with the promenade on which it sits. Could this be because it was positioned under cover of darkness?The local councillors and especially Councillor Holley were conspicuous by their absence.

I can assure you that this matter will not be allowed to end with this letter. After all, there is still the question of the abutments and we have it on good authority there are already vultures circling and names have been mentioned of interested parties who wish to lay claim to them.

Penny Matthews
Eileen Road,
Penlan, Swansea

WHY NO INFO ON BRIDGE?

16 July 2005

I Found your Opinion article (Post, July 2) regarding the Slip Bridge both inaccurate and on a par with the council's consultation cards. Your people as journalists should be investigating why Swansea Council has been very sparse regarding the information the electorate has requested on the Slip Bridge, and then report the actual facts.

Why is it that children in schools across Swansea have been writing poems about the Slip Bridge, fearing its destruction? It's not a case of nostalgia here. Also, would the Evening Post please let its readers know, apart from Beau Nash House in Caer Street and the restored St Mary's Church, which buildings in post-war Swansea you would say have architectural merit.

I agree with Councillor Des Thomas regarding the felling of four trees on the promenade for the re-siting of the span of the Slip Bridge. They should not have been cut down. But let us not forget it was the old Labour administration that caused this initially.

The Labour administration at the time should have arranged for an inspection and repairs to the bridge in situ. It would have been far more practical and economical. If Councillor Des Thomas has great respect for trees, as I have, I suggest he and his colleagues immediately implement a preservation order on the horse chestnut trees that are flourishing in between the Morgan Court luxury apartments and the abutments of the Slip Bridge at St Helen's.

E Ford
Middle Road
Gendros, Swansea

TAKE BRIDGE MONEY BACK

14 July 2005

The sorry tale of the Slip Bridge continues with your report (Council clanger on consultation over bridge fate, July 8) that Swansea Council leader Councillor Holley is unhappy with the results of the public consultation which cost us £35,000. Surely this saga has provided enough material for Mal Pope to write another opera. At the time I wrote to complain about the biased nature of the survey and I also stated that it was unscientific, as respondents did not have to supply their names and addresses only postcodes. There was nothing to stop people submitting numerous forms.

Now for the first time we learn that a majority of the respondents voted in favour of retaining the Slip Bridge. This is surprising considering the fact that the information supporting the options was so biased.

Being a politician, Councillor Holley will understand better than most the meaning of a majority vote. Presumably, if the vote had been in his favour it would have been used to support the removal of the Slip Bridge. However, he wishes to avoid this majority decision by complaining that "the process was prone to being influenced by a pressure group".

This could have been done by either the "For" or "Against" factions yet Councillor Holley offers no proof that it actually happened.Swansea Council employed Opinion Research Services to conduct a survey which has proved to be a dismal failure. It should not be paid for this contract and if it has been paid then the council's legal department should take action to recover the full £35,000.

Mike Stroud
Gabalfa Road
Sketty
Swansea

SLIP BRIDGE RELOCATION "DESTRUCTIVE"

Article by Nino Williams
13 July 2005

The relocation of the Slip Bridge has been labelled destructive and badly planned by critics. Environmentalists insist that trees which were supposed to have been safeguarded were cut down to make way for the bridge.

And a chartered surveyor claims that its new foundations have been poorly thought out.

The bridge was finally lowered into place over the weekend when it completed its journey from its original home across Oystermouth Road to the foreshore.

The decision to move the bridge was taken after it was found to need major investment which could have left the council facing a bill of up to £1 million over the next 15 years.

A public consultation exercise was carried out to help determine its fate, but despite some support for the scheme, opposition to it continues from some who claim the project is a waste of taxpayers' money. Now Swansea Friends of the Earth claim a number of trees have been cut down on the Mumbles Road side to accommodate the bridge - contrary to the original plans.

The group's chairman Roy Jones said today: "The planning papers state specifically that the siting of the Slip Bridge would seek to retain the trees on the Mumbles Road, but in fact the trees on the Mumbles Road side have been cut down."We need to protect our dwindling tree cover and botanical heritage from arbitrary decisions made without public consultation."

Chartered surveyor Gary Perkins claims that the project has been over-engineered, resulting in an overspend because of excessive use of materials.

Mr Perkins said: "The council seems to have lost sight of the fact that this is a bridge."Instead of two supported ends they have nine intermediate points."They only needed two foundations across the width of it at either end and not the full length of the bridge. The unprotected steel in the soil is likely to corrode very quickly."

They have used a lot of manpower and materials at the taxpayers' expense that was unnecessary".

Callers to the Evening Post have also voiced concerns that youths may chose to climb on it, putting themselves at risk, or that it may become the target for graffiti.

Swansea Council has defended the move, and has revealed that it will be coated with a special layer of paint that remains in a gel form to deter people from climbing on it.

They also revealed that new trees have been planted to replace any that were cut down.

A spokesman said: "The trees were removed following consultation with the council's tree officer and replacement trees have been planted. The planning consent stated trees to be retained where practical.

"The nine beams were an integral part of the structure and gave it rigidity whilst it was being lifted into pace. The unprotected steel is now non-structural and is to be encased in concrete as part of the finished job."

PROTESTS. BUT SLIP BRIDGE REHOMED

Article by Sian David - 11 July 2005

Love it or loathe it, it's here to stay. The final chapter in the saga of Swansea's Slip Bridge drew to a close yesterday as the landmark reached its final resting place, changing the face of the city's foreshore forever.

The bridge was moved to the cycle path along the foreshore on Saturday night in a scheme costing council taxpayers around £120,000.

It had spanned Oystermouth Road for more than 100 years before falling into disrepair.

But a decision to move it was taken last year after it was found massive restoration work would be needed if it was to stay where it was.I

t would have cost close to £700,000 with another £250,000 on top over 15 years in maintenance charges. So at the weekend it was at last shifted into position after having a basic facelift including a coat of paint. Its new home on the foreshore path opposite the city's Mumbles Road Recreation ground is where it will now stay.

The move aroused strong feeling in many city residents over whether the bridge should be saved or scrapped. Some wanted it to be restored and returned to its original home over Oystermouth Road.

Others labelled it a waste of money and insisted it should go.A tiny handful of protesters gathered at the new site yesterday to voice their protests as a giant crane was brought in to hoist it into position.

Protest organiser DJ Plastic Sam labelled it "a great waste of money".Chartered surveyor Gary Perkins, who was also against relocating the bridge, said he was concerned that children and skateboarders would use the bridge as a climbing frame and could possibly get hurt.

He added: "They have lost sight of the fact that this is a bridge. It doesn't serve any purpose here and it doesn't look nice. It's just become a giant climbing frame."Passer-by Edward Addicott, aged 77, said he also thought the relocation was a waste of money. "For the life of me I cannot see why the bridge was put there when the money is needed for the roads and schools."It's really upsetting for the people of Swansea to come down here and look at that, it doesn't look nice and kids will climb on it and get hurt," he said.

However, others disagreed saying it was an important part of the city's heritage and deserved to be saved."I think it looks great,'' said foreshore cyclist and mum-of-two Val Hughes, of Gorseinon. "It is nice to see a feature being made of it,'' she added.

Oystermouth Road was closed overnight on Saturday while the work was carried out. Specialist lifting equipment had to be drafted in to move the bridge from the Recreation Ground on Mumbles Road.

It was dumped there more than a year ago, following concerns over the condition of its structure first raised in December 2003.

Cabinet member for the environment John Hague said: "This is an exciting project which will give the bridge a new lease of life and remain as a prominent and striking feature of Swansea Bay.

"The bridge will be preserved for walkers and cyclists and will also be used by the popular land train as part of its extended route."

SLIP SAGA TO COST £120,000

Article by Shaun Greaney and Brian Walters
9 July 2005

Saving Swansea's landmark Slip Bridge and placing it on the promenade will cost council taxpayers £120,000, it was revealed today. The bridge will be moved tomorrow to its new location on the foreshore along the cyclepath near Singleton Park.

A leading opponent of the bridge's new destination, radio DJ Plastic Sam, has slammed the massive cost and is urging people to demonstrate in force at the site tomorrow.

"It is a waste of money," he said.

The DJ said a catalogue of errors had prevented the popular bridge being placed back on the stone abutments either side of Mumbles Road by the Baye View Hotel.

He said the ultimate error came in Swansea Council's admission yesterday that the £35,000 consultation exercise had been a mistake.

Council leader Chris Holley admitted there had been an error in the handling of the Slip Bridge questionnaire. The outcome of the consultation could have been skewed by a pressure group sending in a host of forms after picking up hundreds from Swansea Library, he said.

He added: "That was the mistake we made but to verify the result would have cost an absolute fortune.

"Sam, who came up with alternative plans to provide a cafe and restaurant alongside the abutments by the Baye View to help rejuvenate the area, said he accepted the new location was a done deal.

"But I would urge the many disgruntled people of Swansea to turn out in force tomorrow to demonstrate to the council that they are unhappy with the way this matter has been dealt with by the council," he said.

He is asking people to turn up by the new location at 8.30am tomorrow.

John Hague, cabinet member for the environment, said the movement of the bridge was "an exciting project which will give the bridge a new lease of life and remain as a prominent and striking feature of Swansea Bay".

A council spokesman said: "The cost of the refurbishment of the structure and its relocation on the promenade is likely to be in the region of £120,000. This includes the hire of a specialist crane which will lift the structure into place during an overnight road closure."

YOU CAN'T PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE

Evening Post Editorial - 9 July 2005

There's a very great risk that in years to come it will become known as Holley's Folly. If that is the case, it will be a tad unfair - one person shouldn't shoulder all the blame for one of Swansea Council's most clumsy decisions.

It probably started with the foolish desire of trying to please all the people - a £35,000 consultation exercise which Mr Holley was forced to admit was a mistake.

The Slip Bridge move, due to be carried out this weekend, is about as bonkers as you can get.A rusting relic is renovated and then placed on the foreshore so that it's a bridge which isn't a bridge.

We can think of 120,000 reasons why the Slip Bridge should have been scrapped.

COUNCIL CLANGER ON CONSULTATION OVER BRIDGE FATE

Article by Shaun Greaney - 08 July 2005

Swansea Council leader Chris Holley has admitted the authority dropped a clanger over the Slip Bridge consultation. The £35,000 exercise was hoped to point the way forward for the council on the thorny question of what to do with the bridge, which had fallen into disrepair.

But now, Councillor Holley has admitted the process was prone to being influenced by a pressure group or individuals.

The admission comes after a long-standing Liberal Democrat local activist resigned from the party, attacking his party's actions while in power as "stupid".

Gary Perkins was part of the Cwmbwrla and Manselton Focus Team but became disillusioned after the Lib-Dems took power at County Hall in a coalition pact with Independents and Conservatives.

The party's handling of the Slip Bridge was the last straw for the former election agent to Councillor Holley.Mr Perkins said £35,000 of council tax payers' money was wasted in the consultation exercise over the bridge.

He said there was a 5.3 per cent majority in favour of keeping the bridge and returning it to its original location.

But Mr Perkins said the decision to site the Slip Bridge on the seafront promenade was taken behind closed doors and never put before the public.

"I'm absolutely appalled by the way the party has been operating," said the Lib-Dem member for the past 16 years.

He attacked the U-turns made by the council over the leisure centre, saying the authority said one thing one night and another the next.

"They clearly can't make their minds up what's going on. Either that or there's a hidden agenda," he said.

But Councillor Holley denied the accusations.He said a mistake had been made in the handling of the Slip Bridge questionnaire, whereby the outcome could have been skewed by a pressure group sending in a host of forms after picking up hundreds from Swansea Library.

"We couldn't guarantee that hadn't been done by one individual or one pressure group," said Councillor Holley.

"That was the mistake we made but to verify the result would have cost an absolute fortune."He added: "The decision was made by the administration and not just the Liberal Democrats."

SLIP UP OVER BRIDGE PLANS

08 July 2005

I can well appreciate people's comments over the Slip Bridge and that decisions have already been made. I feel the bridge should be returned to its rightful place of origin and I wonder how many people would agree with me if they were aware of the proposals for the abutments of our beloved bridge.

My partner and I recently had a letter from Chris Holley. In it he mentions that on the beach side, toilets and a water spray are to be installed and that on the town side, the abutments will be put to commercial use - an ice-cream parlour and cafe. This, I fear, causes a safety problem, as people on the beach will inevitably be asked by children for ice creams and so on and how will they access the shop? Across a busy Mumbles Road, by pedestrian crossing.

But how many people will inevitably dodge the busy traffic rather than wait for the lights to change in their favour?

This will be an accident waiting to happen. It will create a problem for motorists and pedestrians alike.However, if the bridge was put back, it would be safer for all to cross the busy Mumbles Road.

I want the people of Swansea to know what the proposals are and decide what their views would be.

I am all for these amenities, but at what safety cost?

Ms L Davies
Manselton Road
Manselton
Swansea

P.S. What a waste of money. We already had toilets there and they pulled them down when they could have renovated them.

TIMBER! ANGER AS TREES CHOPPED

02 July 2005

A row has broken out after mature trees were chopped down to make way for the new home of Swansea's Slip Bridge. Swansea Council has been accused of environmental vandalism after the foreshore trees were felled this week.

The old bridge is about to be moved to a permanent new home on the foreshore footpath opposite the Recreation Ground. But to do it, workmen have been forced to cut down trees.New trees will be planted but people are still angry.

West Cross councillor Des Thomas says the authority has acted irresponsibly by cutting down the trees to make way for the structure.

He said today: "This is environmental vandalism."They are replacing these trees with scrap iron which will end up as a giant climbing frame."I have been investigating having tree preservation orders put on a site in West Cross, which has been earmarked as the location for the new Welsh primary school.

"I was told the council doesn't put orders on trees on its own land because it is deemed to be a responsible landlord.

"If this is an example of an authority acting responsibly, then it doesn't give me any confidence.

"These trees were irreplaceable."

The Slip Bridge is being placed into the walking and cycle route along the seafront.

Originally spanning Oystermouth Road, the bridge was moved for safety reasons more than a year ago.

When it was moved to the Recreation Ground, the intention was initially to give it a much-needed revamp and put it back in place.

But when costs began spiralling, councillors decided to incorporate the bridge into the promenade.

Contractors will use specialist lifting equipment to transfer the bridge to its new home on Sunday, July 10.

Cyclist Peter Evans, aged 42, of Blackpill, said he was shocked when he saw the trees going. He added: "There aren't enough trees in Swansea as it is. It's crazy to knock them down.''

Fay Nash, of Uplands, said: "I'm sure I can remember the trees going up to replace elm trees which were diseased. "It seems a real shame.''

A council spokeswoman said the removal of the trees had been included in the original plans approved by councillors.

She added: "The relocation has required the felling of four trees, which was essential in order to construct the base for the bridge.

"These will be replaced in suitable locations adjacent to the bridge so that there will be no net loss of trees on the promenade."

THIS IS JUST A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Evening Post Editorial - July 2005

In Years to come when Swansea's ruling coalition councillors have retired, they will be able to recount with pride projects such as the National Waterfront Museum and Morfa Stadium, which were completed during their tenure of office. Will they be able to remember the Slip Bridge with similar satisfaction?

We very much doubt it.

The council is spending a significant sum to install this ugly old structure with no architectural merit on a foreshore site that has benefited from major landscaping over the years.

Now salt has been poured into this environmental wound. To make way for the bridge, four mature trees have been chopped down.

All for what? To appease a handful of Swansea residents with memories of walking across the bridge many years ago to spend time on the city's beach.

The bridge might have been tarted up but it will serve no more useful purpose at its new location than it did at its previous site. It will do nothing to improve the quality or look of the bay, which is unquestionably one of Swansea's finest assets.

What is certain is that the bridge will become a target for vandals and the cause of accidents involving children and drunks climbing all over it.