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."