Bath University have now appointed their contractor for the replacement of the footbridge over Quarry Road. The old bridge was removed a few years ago to local concern when the structure was deemed unsafe.

An application to re-route the footpath was rejected by BathNES’s footpath committee; in the last year Cllr Nicholas Coombes has had the committee chair write to the University Vice-Chancellor asking for its speedy replacement, while Cllr Coombes himself has raised the matter with the Director of Estates, Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor on many occasions.

Now that the contractor has been appointed and the bridge ordered, the works should be on time for completion by late August, to re-open the footpath in September before the Autumn term. Quarry Road is due to be closed for 20th-27th August on the current timetable.

There is only one potential problem remaining now; the recent discovery of a nearby badger set…