The long-awaited £75,000 removal of two of Annan’s iconic bridges is finally to get under way.
Flash floods at the end of October saw the force of the water in the River Annan sweep away 125 years of history by destroying the Jubilee and Cuthbertson Bridges in a matter of seconds.
Since then the council has been seeking permission from nearby landowners to carry out the removal of the tangled wreckage from the water.
Sean Marshall, chairman of the Annan Regeneration Steering Group, said the local authority is now preparing to go ahead.
He said: “I am pleased to report that the bridges are to be safely removed from the river with the Cuthbertson Bridge to be removed during the week commencing Monday, May 30, and, all going well, the Jubilee Bridge the following week, from Monday, June 6.”
The council has agreed to pay £75,000 for the bridges’ removal and is also to fund a £50,000 study into replacing them. Meanwhile, a community group set up by local residents to get new bridges on the river in the future is to hold a public meeting – with any updates – tomorrow in The Anglers at 7pm.
Questions have been raised by the public as to what will happen to the salvaged remains with some asking if “bits” could be sold in the community as a keepsake for a small donation.
Councillor Richard Brodie, chairman of the Annan the History Town Group, has raised the possibility of turning the tangled wreckage into a public work of art as a way of preserving some of the town’s heritage.
He said: “I like the idea of recycling the bridges so that they are still part of Annan moving forward.”
Design company Studioarc was commissioned with almost £20,000 funding to take forward the heritage group’s vision of developing the town’s assets to attract more visitors and one of the key suggestions was to create “an iconic centrepiece” which would “act as a beacon” for the history town in the form of a public art commission.
The report states: “The area around the river should be at the heart of this public art commission, attracting attention on arrival into Annan over Annan Bridge and helping to draw visitors towards the waterside. The iconic centrepiece should relate to the river and its importance to the history and development of Annan.”
Mr Brodie said: “Perhaps an idea is to create it from the salvaged remains of the bridges.”
In the meantime, Mr Marshall said: “The plaque from the Cuthbertson Bridge will be kept and used in some way as it is a listed War Memorial. We are also hoping to have some benches made from some of the parts of both bridges by volunteers from the community who have experience. Other than that it is all up for discussion.”
The Jubilee Bridge near Brydekirk was erected in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne.
