We need another bridge over the Lune.

In November we had the terrible weather that destroyed bridges in Cumbria and took the life of PC Bill Barker. Workington was cut in two and thousands of people were affected. Pupils who used to walk to school had a round trip of hundreds of miles. This mileage came down as other bridges were deemed safe and eventually they got a footbridge. There was a great show of support from all levels of government and I know that many members of the public have done what they can to help. Unfortunately political opportunism meant that the MP for Morecambe called for an additional bridge for Lancaster which was not affected by the floods.

I felt that this was bad timing and bad taste. The misery and hardship that had been created by the loss of bridges meant for her that a priority should be given to an area that had lost nothing. It is even worse when you realise that Morecambe is in the number one spot for getting a link road to the M6. There is a lot of vocal opposition to the link road based on environmental grounds (but the same few protestors do seem to live near the road and I would argue that there are benefits to the environment). The planning for the road has been going on for decades and traffic has been getting worse. There is more of a need for a link than ever.

Our MP has thrown her weight in opposing the road but if it is built we would have another bridge over the Lune by default. After decades of planning for the link how long does she think it will take to get another bridge in Lancaster? And how long would this take once you have dealt with priority areas in Cumbria? If a Lancaster bridge collapsed then it is difficult to think that we would have a round trip of hundreds of miles.

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