I understand that an application for £700,000 has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a conservation project for the old railway bridge across the Wye between Redbrook and Penallt.

Some years ago Gloucestershire County Council carried out a survey to paint and refurbish the bridge. They discovered that it would swallow up the entire annual bridge maintenance budget for the county and the project was dropped. It is likely that £700,000 is a very conservative estimate and that considerably more funding would need to be found.

This poses the question: is the bridge worth conserving? It is not visually attractive and was originally built in an era when there were numerous small railway companies. It is not even unique in the Forest, as there is a similar bridge in Lydbrook.

Of course, a bridge across the Wye between the two villages is necessary: trade at the Boat Inn depends on it and it gives access to those houses along the old railway line and for the Wye Valley Walk. These needs could be served by a new, simple, pedestrian and cycle bridge, perhaps constructed of wood, which would be far more visually pleasing in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

If the old bridge were to be dismantled there would be some funds regained from the sale of scrap metal and other materials which could be put towards the new construction.

It would seem, therefore, that the only attraction of the railway bridge is that it is old. The British Isles are a repository of our history and everywhere we walk we are stepping on history. Not everything can be preserved, otherwise we risk becoming a museum.

The old railway bridge has served its purpose and it is no longer necessary for a railway that has not existed for half a century. It is time to think afresh and construct a new pedestrian bridge that meets the needs of today.

– Daphne Pearson, Redbrook.