Construction of Abbeyton Bridge Could Begin Within 12 Months.
In response to a letter from West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie, Aberdeenshire Council have confirmed they are targeting late 2023 for construction of a new Abbeyton Bridge, in the Mearns.
The previous bridge, which stood for around 170 years was demolished in 2018 after fears that it could collapse on to the railway below. Now, almost a year after Aberdeenshire Council included Abbeyton on a ‘bridge priorities’ list, a date looks set for construction.
Andrew said “This is fantastic news for the local community, campaigners and businesses. It’s been over four years since the closure, nearly four since the previous bridge was demolished. By comparison 12 months doesn’t seem so far away.”
The MP has been working closely with campaigners, local councillors and stakeholders including Network Rail for over four years as he desperately sought a resolution.
In October 2018 the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine wrote to the Scottish Government asking for their intervention but no assistance was offered. In February 2019 following the removal of the old bridge, Andrew even enquired about the possibility of the army erecting a temporary bridge on the site. Later that year (October 2019) Andrew appealed to the UK Government in a last ditch attempt to secure assistance, in a letter to then Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick MP, he said:
“The local authority do not have the funds to manage what is fast becoming ‘a crisis’, The Scottish Government have so far shown no interest in making additional funding available to tackle the problem. I am aware that a ‘Stronger Towns Fund’ exists for the benefit of towns and communities in England, is this something that towns and communities in Scotland can also access, if not is there an equivalent funding pot in Scotland supported by Barnett Formula Funding.
With such lack of action being taken to support these communities by the Scottish Government, I am writing to you in the hope that assistance can be provided by the UK Government, support that can be routed directly to Aberdeenshire Council.”
Whilst the UK Government continued to increase Scotland’s block grant funding, it was highlighted to Andrew that the allocation of funding for such projects was a devolved matter. He later tweeted:
“Disappointing but the fact is @scotgov are responsible for local govt funding in Scotland. They’re the ones who’ve cut @Aberdeenshire’s budget and should be assisting with the maintenance or replacement of vital bridges like Park and Abbeyton. The fight goes on!”
The Scottish Conservative MP then turned his attention back to Aberdeenshire Council, meeting with local councillors and lobbying the council leadership in the run up to their respective 2019/20 and 2020/21 budget announcements. Aberdeenshire Council announced a 10 year infrastructure fund and finally in November 2021 the councils Infrastructure Services Committee approved a list of bridges for repair and replacement with Abbeyton amongst them.
In August this year Andrew received the news that Aberdeenshire Council were in discussions with Network Rail “to jointly determine the most cost effective and efficient way of taking forward the project.”
In the same letter confirmation is given that the intention is to begin construction late 2023 or early 2024 with Network Rail “delivering both the design and construction, using their current civil engineering framework providers.”
Regarding the news Andrew said: “This has been one of those campaigns that I just couldn’t let go of, I’m delighted to have finally received a target date for construction. I don’t think that local users of the bridge ever cared too much about who was providing the solution, or funding it, as long as someone was. Aberdeenshire’s Administration Councillors supported investment in roads and bridges, and Abbeyton will now get built as a result, fantastic.”
