Last year the residents of Richmond and cast their votes to choose the design of the long awaited railway footbridge at North Sheen station.
And on Friday (Feb 10) those residents turned up at Calvert Court , Manor Park and Holy Trinity Primary School, Carrington Rd to voice their approval and get a first glimpse of the winning design.
Reactions ranged from: “Fabulous, long awaited” and “Can’t wait to use it” to “I feel the children walk to school will be much safer.”
The design, by Richmond resident and retired banker Stephen Speak, was inspired by the Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens, after a competition in reaction to Network Rail’s original plans for the footbridge, which were rejected by the locals.
The innovative Big Society community design competition was hosted by Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith and North Richmond Councillors, Katharine Harborne, Lisa Blakemore and Richard Montague.
“This new bridge is just what the residents voted for, a well-designed low impact bridge and something we can all be proud of for years to come,” said Cllr Harborne, North Richmond Ward. “I can't thank Network Rail enough for working with us and genuinely listening to our community.”
Network Rail too are delighted, not just with the design, but with the partnership the competition has fostered between itself and the community which it serves.
Richard O’Brien, Network Rail’s route managing director for Wessex said: “The community has put a lot of effort into the design process and played an active role in choosing the winner. We urge them to support the planning application so we can make the design a reality.”
The images of the proposed new footbridge will now be submitted to the Richmond Council as a revised planning application.
