BRABYN’S PARK
Marple, Greater Manchester
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Campaign
to By
Lisa Cooper |
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RESIDENTS in Marple
are stepping up their campaign to restore a historic village landmark to its
former glory. The village's Iron
Bridge in Brabyn's Park has been left to rust and corrode into its current
poor condition over the years. But now two Marple residents, Mark Whittaker
and Peter Clarke, are spearheading the campaign to get something done. They hope to prevent
its permanent deterioration, and for the bridge to be brought back to its
original state of beauty before it is too late. A date has now been
provisionally fixed for April 12 for the residents to meet with
representatives of the leisure and culture division of the council to discuss
the next steps, and the possibility of lottery funding for the restoration of
the bridge. Decline |
Peter Clarke said:
"It's tragic to see a local landmark fall into this condition and we are
pressing for its renovation. Local residents are supporting us, particularly
those who use the park a lot. "Marple has had
a history of destroying its historic places and we don't want the bridge to
go the same way. "A lot of
communities would kill to have something like this in their area simply
because of its beauty. "In the past the
bridge has just being ignored. Two years we've been campaigning for something
to be done and that's another two years closer the bridge is to falling in
the river. Peter Bardsley of the
Marple Historic Society said: "The bridge is part of the heritage of
Brabyn's Park and should be restored. The current state of the bridge and
even the state of the bailey bridge gives much concern." Mr. Clarke added:
"We know that funding is the problem. We were told in June last year
that hold-ups on the repair were purely of a financial nature, and that as
soon as the money became available work would begin. "So, hopefully
we can get some money from the Lottery Heritage Fund or somewhere else and
things will start happening." Local residents can
voice their views on the bridge in the forum on the Marple website at
www.marple-uk.com. |
http://www.marple-uk.com/ironbridge/ironbridge13.htm
Prepared by Bob Dalrymple, PO Box 122, Dapto, NSW Australia 2350
eMail: bob@relativelyyours.com