Why bridge repairs are essential

Firstly, the suggestion that pedestrians using the footbridge were put at risk was erroneous. The footbridge was closed at 5.30pm on Thursday September 27, well before the flood level reached it, and the Police, Coun Beth Graham and North Yorkshire County Council's divisional engineer were informed.

This was done as a precaution to prevent risk to the public.

From first light the following morning the contractor provided a shuttle minibus service between one side of the bridge and the other. The bus and a driver were on site 24 hours a day to ferry passengers on demand. From l0am that morning he had a crane on site clearing the debris to reduce the risk of flooding.

At no time did the flood water rise above the tops of the bridge columns, leaving more than three feet of freeboard before the river overtopped and flooded adjacent properties, admittedly not a lot, but no less than in previous periods of flooding.

It may be helpful to explain some of the background to the strengthening work now underway.

The bridge was built by the Midland Railway Company around 1882, and has much of the character of an old railway bridge.

It now carries not only the road but also a gas main, water main, sewer and telephone cables, but it was not strong enough for its primary purpose, to carry the traffic of the day.

Considerable thought was put into how best to tackle this, whether by strengthening or complete replacement. The solution eventually chosen keeps the outer parts of the old bridge but with new steel beams and a reinforced concrete slab hidden inside them, and has a number of distinct advantages.

Advantages of the strengthening method are:

The historic appearance is preserved; no new foundations are needed, so the construction period and the effect on the river are kept to a minimum; continuous support is available for the many service pipes carried; extra land-take is minimised.

The choice of the present method was therefore quite clear-cut, as it is also cheaper than building a new bridge.

The timing of the work has however been fraught with problems.

It had been programmed to start in April, but the outbreak of foot and mouth in March prompted the county council to suspend all non-emergency highway works affecting farmland, including Gasworks Bridge, as a precaution against-the spread of the disease.

When this suspension was lifted, the contractor was not able to remobilise before May because he had, quite understandably, committed his men to other work. By this time, further outbreaks of foot and mouth had occurred, including some in the immediate vicinity of Settle. Consequently MAFF would not permit work to start without a licence being issued, which was obtained to run from May 29.

However on that very morning, when the contractor turned up on site, foot and mouth was confirmed at the adjacent farm, the licence was suspended and the contractor was turned away by the police.

Off-site fabrication work went ahead, but a start on site (subject to conditions imposed by DEFRA, and following another short period for the contractor to remobilise) was not finally possible until August 20, nearly five months later than planned.

Although the resulting timing would not be ideal, it was considered essential that the work should go ahead because of the suspected poor condition of the inaccessible parts of the bridge. The only alternative would have been a complete closure through the winter.

The decision to carry on was graphically vindicated when the dismantling operations revealed the severe state of corrosion of the wrought iron connections beneath the 130-year-old bridge deck.

I hope the above will help your readers to appreciate the situation and the efforts being made to expedite essential work in difficult circumstances. The contractor is well aware of the problems the works are causing in the area and has responded in a safe and proper manner.

Every effort is being made to complete the parts affecting the river flow as quickly as possible and at no time will anything anything be done which compromises the safety of the public. In the meantime the public's forbearance of the inevitable inconvenience would be appreciated.

Brian Jones,

Client Unit Manager,

North Yorks County Council,

Environmental Services Dept.

Support referees

SIR - I read with deep concern the article about the assault on a referee in a Craven District League match.

The referee was quite right to abandon the game and call the police.

Referees are putting something back into the game they once played and enjoyed. They try to make honest assessments on the laws of the game and do their best to be fair to both teams.

Most players in this age group now play with their mouths and their arms, not their brains and their feet. They blame referees for spoiling the game when they are the culprits.

OK, the referee may have a bad game but on balance over a season he will have more good games.

The referee's job is not done when the final whistle blows on an afternoon. He more often than not spends Saturday and Sunday nights filling in caution and sending off forms while the players are in the pub sinking pints.

Craven and Keighley Associations must protect the referees and give them full backing.

Bob Turner for Craven and Kevin Trowers for Keighley are both excellent in this administration of the game.

In an incident a few years ago I had reason while refereeing to caution a hard man player, the scourge of local referees and after a second bookable offence I sent him off the field.

The player, in his report to the West Riding FA wrote that the referee, while cautioning, stood on his toe so he spat in the referee's face.

Happily that player got his just reward and I continued to enjoy my Saturday and Sundays refereeing.

So come on all you club officials, spectators etc. By all means voice your opinion but in a fair and respectable manner and let the referee do his job.

Allan Mason,

Jennygill Crescent,Skipton.

Commissioning

SIR - In the debate about the organisation of Health Service funding it is important that it is understood what the issues are.

Mr Rose of Long Preston (Craven Herald letters, October 12) was perplexed by my letter expressing my and my colleagues opposition to the proposed Craven and Harrogate primary care merger.

He writes "surely budgeting for future developments at Airedale Hospital is the concern and prerogative of the hospital National Health Trust, not Primary Care Trusts...if there is a shortfall the hospital trust itself will look, no doubt, to Government sources for additional finance."

In fact the taxpayer's money that funds the hospital service follows a clearly defined route. Ten or more years ago this was from the former Yorkshire Regional Health Authority.

More recently it has been through the area health authorities, so Airedale has had to negotiate with Bradford HA, North Yorkshire HA and East Lancashire HA for its money.

The latest reforms pass on this commissioning role to Primary Care Trusts. So, all hospital facilities that are used by Craven residents will in future be available to them because, and only when, they have been commissioned by the PCT which covers the district.

Hospitals cannot go direct to Government over the head of the PCT, although some highly specialised services may be commissioned on a national basis.

Dr Michael Crawford,

Consultant Medical Oncologist

Airedale General Hospital.

No reason for ban

SIR - We wish to point out the extraordinary lack of justification for the proposed introduction of double yellow lines on both sides of Gainsborough Court.

o Existing parking on Gains-borough Court (a public highway) poses, in itself, no road, safety, or any other nuisance.

o Surrounding properties in the area are already poorly served with parking spaces.

o The ban, if introduced, would lead to added congestion and pressure on the remaining available parking areas, and cause considerable inconvenience for a large number of Skipton people.

We understand that the Gainsborough Court Residents Association has made a case for this parking ban based on safety. We also share those concerns, the only difference being that we propose changes which would actually improve safety.

We strongly suggest that any safety concerns should be addressed by narrowing the mouth of the intersection with Gargrave Road, thereby reducing vehicle speeds into Gainsborough Court and the use of this intersection as a turning point. Speed ramps could also be introduced to further reduce vehicle speeds along Gainsborough Court.

The proposal of a parking ban has, we understand, been previously rejected. It is opposed by current and former local representatives. The proposal is totally inconsistent with the approach to parking on surrounding streets (eg Salisbury, Belgrave, and Bright Streets).

Equally as puzzling is the apparent failure of the Gainsborough Residents Association to advocate measures which would actually improve the safety of Skipton pedestrians whilst maintaining scarce parking spaces for its residents. Could it be that the originators of this proposal are really motivated not by safety at all but by the desire to keep other people's cars from what they erroneously regard as their private driveway ?

Martyn and Marie Stone,

Gargrave Road, Skipton.

Apprentices

SIR - With reference to the joinery student who had to give up his job to carry on with his studies (Craven Herald October 5), I think that the Government should go back to apprenticeship schemes.

Surely it would be beneficial to all concerned if the youngsters were working but were allowed one or two days a week to study for their qualifications at college.

As you say, craftsmen/tradesmen are becoming a rare breed, but I think if the former apprenticeship schemes were brought back it would encourage more youngsters to train in basic skills and trades whilst actually working and earning themselves some money. It then might not be so difficult to get hold of a joiner, plumber or electrician, which seems to be the case nowadays.

Let's encourage the youngsters who want to work. May I wish young Sam Brown all the best and I hope he can find a company which can employ him and let him study at the same time.

I myself went on day release to Skipton College to do carpentry and joinery whilst employed by Brassingtons, Settle, in the early 1960s.

John Reid,

Tems Street, Giggleswick.

One world week

SIR - One World Week starts this weekend. This international, annual event celebrates community around the world.

People around the world have so much in common. A wish for peace and security, for freedom from terrorism, for health, education and wealth.

It is also a time to remember injustice. In 1982 the total Latin American overseas debt was 300 billion dollars. Between 1982 and 1996 740 billion dollars were repaid. In 2000 the total remaining debt was 607 billion dollars. Wealth flows from the poor to the rich.

Also world trade rules are loaded against poor people and the environment and in favour of rich multinationals.

The small One World Week stand in Skipton Town Hall foyer mounted by Skipton WDM illustrates these issues. We hope that many local people will take a few minutes during the week to look at it.

Jane Peers,

Halton Hall, Halton East.