'Trawsfynydd...Betrayal' of drowned Eryri community as historic bridge to be demolished!

 

This bridge was lovely, such a shame to remove it, the council should be held to account on this, this bridge was for the welsh people, it just goes to show how little councils care about our heritage. 

 Not brilliantly clear but this is the map of the area before it was flooded.

The quarter-mile footbridge was built to mitigate the loss of farms and land when a new reservoir was created

Angry villagers are not ready to concede defeat despite being told an historic footbridge is to be demolished. The steel walkway was built in compensation for the loss of land, roads and paths when Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir was built in the 1920s.

Stretching a quarter of a mile across Wales’ second-largest lake, the Eyri bridge is a valued community asset. In recent years it has also become a major tourism attraction: among the last to walk across was a man who said it “completely blew my mind”.

Nuclear authorities have been accused of turning their backs on the village. “They’ve made millions from this site,” said community councillor Iwan Jones. “Now they're washing their hands of it and walking away.”

In summer 2022, the walkway was closed at short notice following the discovery of structural issues. The local community demanded the bridge be restored and reopened before its 100th anniversary in 2028.

However the writing appeared to be on the wall from the outset. The Nuclear Restoration Service (NRS) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said restoration was “unviable” due to the amount of deterioration.

The cost of a new crossing was estimated at £3m (2024 prices), excluding demolition

While a replacement bridge hasn’t been completely ruled out, local people fear the worst. Last month the NDA confirmed demolition is now planned pending planning consent from Eryri National Park Authority.

In a letter to the community council, the NDA/NRS said: “Both organisations are aware of the significance of the footbridge to many within the Trawsfynydd community and remain very mindful of the representations that have been made.

“While no decision has been made beyond removal, we will continue working with local stakeholders to assess future options. In this assessment, we will consider the community’s views... the historical records... and other relevant commitments.

“We will need to balance the assessment against available funding as a publicly-funded organisation and our obligation to prioritise our core mission of nuclear decommissioning and hazard reduction at the Trawsfynnydd site, and the safe operation of Maentwrog Power Station.”

As a formal right of way, local people argue the NDA and NRS are compelled to maintain or replace the bridge. They are also obliged to leave a positive legacy once work is completed, it’s claimed.

More than that, there is a moral imperative, said Cllr Jones. “If the bridge goes, it’s unlikely it will be replaced,” he said. “If that happens, they will be abandoning their responsibilities.

“When the reservoir was created, the community was offered the bridge as a sweetener, if you like. The other option was a year’s free electricity or something similar: local people chose the bridge.

“Since then, they’ve made lots of money from the water, using it to generate electricity and cool the reactors. Now we risk losing the only legacy that was ever of any use to the community.”

Trawsfynydd reservoir was constructed between 1924 and 1928 to supply water for Maentwrog hydro-electric station. To make way, some 20 properties were flooded, including two farms and a chapel. A network of local footpaths was also lost by the drowning of Y Gors Goch (The Red Peatland).

So too was the old Trawsfynydd-Gellilydan road that roughly followed the 2,000-year-old Roman road of Sarn Helen, the country’s first cross-Wales route. During periods of drought, the ghostly outline of the old road re-emerges at the side of the lake.

The reservoir’s creation left people in remoter areas having to make huge detours to reach Trawsfynydd village. In mitigation, a small road and footbridge were built to provide a short-cut across the narrowest part of the lake.

The walkway comprises 20 lattice-girder spans supported by trestle towers, linking the village with the site of a former chapel. It also helped children get to school.

Since 2022, when the bridge was closed, some primary school pupils have been forced to walk along the busy A470 to get to classes.

School outings from Ysgol Bro Hedd have also been disrupted as it would involve taking groups of up to 30 children along the main road. Previously they enjoyed safe excursions via the bridge, now outings are considered “too dangerous”.

To generate wider support, banners have been hung along the A470. A petition was signed by 495 people, half the village’s population.

“No one is happy to see the bridge going,” said Cllr Jones, who runs the award-winning Siop Glyndwr convenience store in the village. “It’s a regular part of life for residents and the bridge is a regular topic of conversation in the shop.

“It also attracts tourists to the area. I run a bunkhouse here and one of the first questions visitors ask is how to get to the bridge.

“We’ve received no guarantees the bridge will be replaced. It threatens to be a sour end to promises made almost a century ago. It’s such a shame.

“But we haven’t given up. The community will continue fighting for restoration or replacement of the bridge.” Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday

The NDA/NRS said the footbridge had to be closed to protect members of the public. A spokesperson said: “Safety will always be our highest priority.

“We are currently developing plans for the safe demolition of the bridge, including detailed consideration of the most appropriate method. No decision has been taken on any future steps beyond this.

“We will keep stakeholders informed moving forward, mindful that we are funded by taxpayers and our core mission is to reduce hazards and decommission the UK’s nuclear sites.”

from...https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/betrayal-drowned-eryri-community-historic-33398169