Plan to replace Clophill bridge with toucan crossing scrapped

Clophill Bridge campaigner Dean Elcome said he was ‘vindicated, shocked, happy and tired all at the same time’ after Central Beds Council backed down to people power.

The council – which had been considering replacing the bridge with a toucan crossing at the A507 between Clophill and Shefford – said they had reassessed their plans because of budget constraints and the strength of local opposition.

IT consultant Dean, who’s been at the forefront of the battle to save the bridge – and who even joined the parish council to gain a better understanding of government procedure – commented: “It’s a huge win for common sense and, more importantly, people’s safety.

"Something that’s been very close to my heart for the past 10 months has finally achieved its goal.”

The bridge was initially built in the early 2000s in order to satisfy safety concerns by the then Council regarding the housing development on the opposite side of the busy A507. It allowed pedestrians to cross safely in the face of increasing traffic.

Early last year the council put forward plans to redevelop the nearby roundabout, allegedly to improve the traffic flow. But this would have meant removing the bridge to allow for wider roads, replacing it with a toucan crossing.

Dean said: “The crossing was potentially a much more dangerous proposition, and against the council’s original insistence of installing a bridge in the first place.

“I decided to make a stand and began looking into the plans, trying to find potential ways around the issue.”

He set up a Facebook page and talked to local media, including the Luton News and BBC 3CR.

He also went door to door gauging public interest, conducted footfall surveys, made banners to hang from the bridge and put up numerous posters. He then became a full-time village parish councillor in order to gain more knowledge of the inner workings of local government procedure.

He recalled: “I enlisted the services of an independent civil engineer and architect and put forward a detailed plan to the council.

“But our concerns were not compelling enough for the council to want change . . . until I heard this week that due to increasing costs and concerns raised by local residents the plans would need to be altered and the bridge would ultimately stay.”

He added: “I think the decision was fundamentally driven by money. However, our campaign gave them the basis to take another look at our rejections and the reasons behind them.”

Although the council decided to go ahead with scheme after the public consultation ended in July last year, it has now said there were ‘required changes’ due to ‘rising construction costs.

In a statement, a council spokesperson said: "Knowing the strength of public feeling during the consultation, we took this opportunity to reassess the plans to redesign the roundabout and will move forward with an amended scheme that keeps the footbridge.

"Remodelling the planned roundabout brings the project costs in line with the budget and still delivers significant benefits for road users, local residents and communities across Central Bedfordshire."

Dean said: “I’m ecstatic. Residents and visitors to our wonderful woodland can continue to cross the ever busy A507 completely safe from the traffic.