HAVING spent 24 hours on the Winnington Bridge as part of a campaign calling for it to be replaced, Lee Siddall is well placed to comment news that reality is one step closer.

Now a town councillor for the Winnington and Castle ward, Cllr Siddall has welcomed news Cheshire West and Chester will be applying for a slice of £4.8 billion of central government funding.

Cllr Siddall has been campaigning for the bridge's replacement for several years and last March spent a full 24 hours on the ageing structure.

After the cabinet of the council gave the green light for a funding bid to pay for a new bridge, Cllr Siddall said: "I'm incredibly proud to be involved in helping shape the new Winnington bridge plans after spending 24 hours on the bridge at the beginning of 2020.

"It's incredibly positive that all parishes seem to be on the same page when it comes to wanting a new bridge, although they have some concerns that need to be considered during the planning stages, such as ensure there are enough crossings in place as traffic will flow more constant than before and limiting the number HGVs by implementing sinage that grant access to selected businesses should do the trick

"At the moment, it looks like there are three ideas are on the table, and I feel that any new crossing that uses the civil war bridge should be avoided and dismissed as I don't think the full cost of increased traffic to this bridge would be realised until it's too late.

"I have been to take a close look at the civil war bridge, and it's true what they say, "they don't build them like they used to" however, the continuous pounding and increased traffic would have a damaging effect on this bridge.

"We need to look after our heritage for future generations.

"The civil war bridge is narrow, and there is little room for cyclists, pedestrians and heavy traffic at present, so I feel this endorses our argument that using this bridge for continuous future traffic would not be compatible with the Northwich transport strategy and should only be used for cyclists and pedestrian."

Several options remain on the table for what form the new bridge will take, including the retention of the existing bridge for use by cyclists and pedestrians.

Cllr Siddall added: "I think Cllr Cernik and I are on the same page regarding the options and would like to see the Winnington swing bridge along with the civil war bridge as part of a cycle route that could be linked up with other cycle routes in the area.

"It could also be linked up with attractions such as the Anderton boat lift, Marbury Park and Northwich town centre I feel by doing this it would not only be environmentally beneficial while retaining our historical heritage but could also help improve the population's health too.

"The ideal solution is a two-way bridge that avoids the civil war bridge so the swing bridge and the civil war bridge can be refurbished to it's full glory and only used for bikes, pedestrians and active travel."