Dawlish News
Residents and visitors to Dawlish are benefiting from a new footbridge built by a team of engineers, designers and surveyors from Teignbridge District Council.
The new 10-metre timber bridge, which passes over Dawlish Water to link to Manor Gardens, replaces a dilapidated and unsafe bridge which was closed 12 months ago because rotting timbers and corroded steel beam supports meant it was too dangerous to keep open.
Dawlish Town Council and Teignbridge have been working together to solve the problem and provide a new much-needed link.
A 30-strong team of men and women from Teignbridge's Property and Design department spent seven hours onsite managing, construction and installing a new bridge, situated at the western end of the popular town centre space, which is now open for public use.
The bridge is made from untreated hard wood and will be maintenance free for at least the next 25 years, saving even more in maintenance costs.
And it has gone down well with impressed councillors and residents, some of whom turned out to watch the work in action.
The carefully managed team building project had two-fold benefits: it provided a benefit to the local community at minimal cost to the authority and tax payers, and it gave the team's trainee engineers and modern apprentices with an opportunity to gain valuable experience in site management and construction.
Cllr Kevin Lake, Teignbridge District Council's Executive Spokesperson for Environmental Services, said:
"It was really impressive to see the team roll up their sleeves and provide something which is a great benefit to the local community. The old bridge badly needed replacing because it was a risk to the public. This was a great way to do it. We are lucky to have such a skilled team in-house to carry out projects like this and their services are in demand by other authorities and partner agencies."
Cllr Terry Lowther, Mayor of Dawlish, said:
"Dawlish Town Council has been working closely with Teignbridge's Property and Design team after defects with bridges over the Brook were found a couple of years ago.
"The wooden bridge has been closed for the past year and its replacement will be greatly welcomed by residents. A second bridge, opposite the bandstand on the Lawn, is also to be replaced later this year and further improvements to the Brook are planned following a computer-modelling exercise which will be finished in July."
Cllr Graham Price, Teignbridge District Council's ward member for Dawlish Central and North East, popped down to see the bridge being swung into place. He said:
"The combined effort of all the members of staff from Teignbridge involved was impressive to say the least. A big thank you goes to them all, the long awaited replacement bridge is an extremely sturdy structure and I am sure it will serve our community for many years to come. With the recent improvements to The Strand and other improvements in the pipeline, piece by piece, Dawlish is on the up."
In previous years the Teignbridge department has installed dipping platforms in some of Teignbridge's parks so children can learn more about the natural environment with the council's Green Spaces Rangers and they created a sensory garden at Meadowside Residential Care Home, Newton Abbot, a registered care home for adults with learning disabilities.
