The chair of a parish council in Buckinghamshire has urged residents to help fund the replacement of a rotting footbridge after the local authority spent its reserves on the restoration of a nearby riverbank.

Neil Dring, 60, the chair of Medmenham Parish Council who has served as a councillor for over 20 years, told the Free Press that it is a testament to the “strength” of the local community that over £2,000 has been raised towards the replacement of a rotting footbridge in the village just three days after a fundraising page was set up.

The parish council has been monitoring the Ferry Lane footbridge, which runs from the South Bucks village to the Thames riverbank, for some time and concluded last week that preventative action should be taken to tackle rotting and deterioration that, if left unchecked, could necessitate a long-term closure and the temporary loss of an “essential” community asset.

The replacement operation is estimated to cost £9,000, however, prompting concern within the council about how it would be funded – with the authority recently shelling out £20,000 for riverbank restoration near the Ferry Memorial, where unprecedented flooding had caused significant erosion. 

Thus, the council has appealed to members of public to raise the funds required to demolish and rebuild the wooden structure – a move that has proved an unambiguous success, with nearly £1,000 raised in just 24 hours and as of today (November 26), the number close to £3,000.

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Neil said that while it was “unfortunate” that the bridge replacement had been deemed necessary shortly after the council’s investment in restoring a Medmenham riverbank, he and other members had been spurred to act after witnessing the long-term closures of other bridges in the area, also from structural issues.

“You could see that the bridge was starting to go – we assessed it and found that it isn’t in a critical state, but preventative action is the best way forward. If we don't replace it, it might survive through winter, but it also might not.

“We’ll probably only have to close it for a couple of days as it’s not a big bridge, but we want to avoid a longer closure because it is essential to the community.

“It’s a critical part of the Thames river walk and we have lots of visitors who swim and launch canoes and paddleboards from it. It’s also popular among villagers – I go on dog walks twice a day myself, often near Ferry Lane.”

While he and other councillors are grateful for the public support the fundraiser has received, Neil is adamant that it was a last resort, and that the parish council would “plan better” to prevent a similar appeal from being necessary in the future.

“We’ve never asked for help before, and I hope we won’t have to do it again. This has taught us that we need to build up a reserve to be prepared for any emergency.

"I’m glad we have been able to raise money this way, instead of having to increase our precept. Not everyone can afford to shoulder these costs."