Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Relief as replacement Abbeyton Bridge finally confirmed three years after demolition

Jeff Huthchison, George Carr and Andrew Bowie at the site of the former Abbeyton Bridge

Abbeyton Bridge was pulled down after 170 years amid fears it could collapse onto the railway line below at any moment.

The old crossing was taken apart over Christmas in 2018, adding miles to locals’ journeys and sparking fears for the future of the nearby Castleton Farm cafe.

But today councillors have agreed to rebuild the crossing along the B966 Fettercairn to Fordoun road.

Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee made the decision as they ordered a list of priority bridge repairs needed across the county.

The bridge was taken apart on Christmas Eve in 2018.

‘Important step’ taken for new Abbeyton Bridge

Mearns councillor George Carr said: “This is great news for south Aberdeenshire, especially since significant damage has taken place to surrounding roads since 2018.

“Residents, businesses and the agricultural community will welcome this important step to rebuild this vital bridge.

“I thank Mearns Community Council and the residents who helped make the business case for this work to move forwards.”

Fellow Mearns councillor Jeff Hutchison added: “I am only too aware of the impact its loss has had on the Fordoun area and the wider Mearns community.”

Why was crossing condemned?

Fears began to surface about Abbeyton Bridge in the summer of 2018, with repeated use by heavy vehicles being blamed for its ramshackle state.

It was sealed off that June, with concerns it could crumble onto the Aberdeen to Dundee railway line.

The gap where the bridge used to be on the B966 north of Fordoun.

Now that the required £1,630 of council funding has been agreed, Network Rail will be responsible for carrying out the work.

West Aberdeenshire MP Andrew Bowie has been on the case.

He said: “I’ve been in close contact with Network Rail to establish their capacity to do the work, and will approach them again to pin down timescales.

“There are many communities who have been left divided by the massive repair and replacement backlog faced by the council.

“I will pursue every avenue on how to take other projects forward.”

Tourism-boosting Laurencekirk hotel can only proceed when delayed £24m flyover is built