£1.3m bridge to span town park
It is hoped a £1.3 million footbridge which is due to be built through a Northampton park will be a 'landmark piece of art'.
Northampton Borough Council has asked civil engineers to come forward with plans for the bridge, which would span both the River Nene and the Grand Union Canal in the newly created Upton Country Park.
It is hoped a firm will be appointed to carry out the work by November, with builders moving onto the site in March and the new pedestrian bridge completed by September 2011.
The council's cabinet member for communities, Councillor Paul Varnsverry (Lib Dem, West Hunsbury) also represents the area where the bridge will be built.
He said: "We hope that someone will rise to the challenge and be able to deliver a scheme that is a landmark bridge which is also a piece of functionable art.
"Not just a bridge, but also something that people can stand back from and enjoy from afar."
Plans for the creation of Upton Country Park were first revealed by the Government in 2008.
When the plans were released, it was hoped the new 420 acre park, which would be created in an area of farmland, would attract walkers, cyclists and runners to the Upton area.
It was also hoped the work would improve the habitats of bats, badgers and watervoles which live in the area. Since revealing the plans, the Government has passed the scheme, and the funding for it, onto the borough council.
Councillor Varnsverry said the project was progressing well, adding: "Like all these things, it takes time to pull everything together, but it's going to be great when it's all finished and we have the official opening.
"It will be yet another park for Northampton, a town which is already blessed with many," Councillor Varnsverry added.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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