No votes against plan
Controversial plans for a new Kerse Road bridge have been approved after councillors decided short-term pain would mean long-term gain.
At a hearing yesterday (Tuesday) Stirling Council’s planning panel approved Network Rail’s application to replace the bridge as part of the electrification of the Stirling area rail network.
But approval of mitigation measures and the lengthy road closure needed to allow the work to take place, which sparked a 1000-signature Observer petition, will be decided at a later date by another committee.
The application sought permission to replace the existing bridge to meet the clearance distances required for electrification of the railway line and to address a number of defects identified with the existing structure.
Network Rail told councillors the proposed closure of Kerse Road Bridge had been cut from 12 months to six months with no prospect of a further reduction.
They said if the work was agreed without further delay it would avoid both the 2017 and 2018 Christmas trading periods and the busy Black Friday shopping weekend.
While panel members approved the bridge application yesterday, saying they recognised the long-term economic benefits it would bring to the area, they stressed that council officers would be working with Network Rail to minimise the impact as far as possible.
Members voiced a number of concerns during the discussions, with Councillor Jim Thomson questioning the validity of a traffic impact assessment that was carried out during a five-day closure of the bridge earlier this year. He said several of the 26 traffic measuring stations placed in the area had failed to work, including two on the busy Glasgow Road and Causewayhead Road.
Representatives of Thistles shopping centre owners Standard Life Investments, who objected to the application, argued there would be a significant impact on the city centre economy caused by the bridge works and claimed Network Rail had not discussed the project with them until last week.
Angus Stenhouse of SLI said during the temporary closure footfall had dropped significantly in the Thistles and car park use was down 20 per cent.
He added that lengthy closure of the road could create longer lasting changes in the pattern of behaviour of visitors and shoppers, with a detrimental impact on the city centre, and suggested a reduction in business rates or a compensation package should be considered if the application was granted.
Some councillors felt Standard Life had to have known about the proposals for a significant length of time.
Councillor Maureen Bennison, who moved for the application to be approved, was disappointed the Thistles owners had not taken steps to come up with a proper economic impact assessment before now, despite their claims that they had not had enough time to do so given their late introduction to consultation.
Network Rail project manager Gary Murphy said they would continue to communicate with businesses and residents and with the council’s environmental health officers and economic development team during the work.
Panel chair Alasdair Macpherson asked whether the current bridge could cope with electrification.
Transport Scotland representative, Mhairi McKenzie said: “Electrifying railways is very complicated.
“We don’t want to be coming in here causing disruption to Stirling. Unfortunately we are not able to do this work safely any other way because of all the other factors at this location.”
Despite all panel members expressing concerns, including Councillor Macpherson acknowledging it had the potential to be a disaster for the community, the application was unanimously approved.
Councillor Bennison said: “Repair work does need to be done on the current bridge and money will be thrown at it time and time again. This is an opportunity for us to completely sort out the bridge situation.
“We recognise the impact this proposal is going to have and the traffic impact but for short-term pain there is going to be longterm gain.”
Following the hearing Tory group leader Neil Benny said: “I am delighted Network Rail have resubmitted a revised programme to complete the works within six months, although we will need to keep a close eye on progress as projects such as these often overrun.
“The council, through the environment and housing committee, will need to step up to the plate to monitor this complex and disruptive project to completion.”