A Highland councillor has promised a review of a rule allowing only two people at a time to use a pedestrian bridge that has just been refurbished at a public cost of almost £300,000.
The restriction on Tain’s Alexandra Bridge was imposed for safety reasons – and remains inplace despite the completion of the long awaited work.
Community leaders are mystified by that – and the level of contribution from the town’s common good fund (CGF) to pay for it.
The bridge is the only access from the royal bugh’s links to the sea shore. The repairs to the 1902-built, B-listed structure have cost £285,000.
Historic Scotland gave £100,000; the CGF £76,000; Highland Council £50,000 and Tain Community Council £5,000.
Although he welcomed the refurbishment, Tain Community Council treasurer Derek Louden believes the bridge should feature as part of the core paths network which qualifies for more regular maintenance.
“Under the Community Empowerment Bill, we tried to get control of the CGF because we could see what was happening to it,” he said.
“In other communities, Highland Council would have adopted the bridge. The fund is not supposed to be for general expenditure but for things to improve the life of the town.
“However, what they’ve basically done is empty it. It had about £600,000 in it when we took office in 2011.”
He understood the fund to stand at about £30,000 in the wake of the bridge repairs.
“They had generally done a good job keeping the income coming in, but the coffers are not getting topped up,” he added.
“Yet, when something like this comes along they feel it’s a pot they can dip into despite having failed to adequately maintain the bridge in the interim. There had basically been one lick of paint.”
Local Highland councillor Alasdair Rhind said: “Now the bridge has been refurbished I’d have thought there’d be no need for the restriction notice. The other thing is, who would police such a thing?”
Defending the scale of common good fund money used, he said: “I’m concerned, but that’s what the general public wanted. They wanted the bridge back in use again. Being a common good asset, it was only right that the fund put money into it.”
According to Highland Council, as of March this year, the value of usable reserves on Tain CGF was £401,154.