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00:00oh yeah all right yeah good thank you exciting stuff isn't it yeah
00:14I just think it's brilliant on so many levels it's absolutely great for
00:19Shepton it's great for the strawberry line yeah if I just back up a bit you are
00:24live on Somerset live
00:30and it's great for the fact that you've got all these volunteers so all those
00:34guys lined up there none of them are paid
00:38they're all going to spring into action and get the fencing and the
00:43balustrades in place so how long will it actually take to to actually lower that
00:49into place and secure it I think that's got to be done in half an hour
00:53excellent morning Ross just amazing it's going to it's really been bolted at one
00:59end and it's going to have rollers at the other end so that it allows for
01:03expansion excellent if we ever get those blazing hot summer days again it'll grow
01:08by a centimetre or something that's fantastic
01:14I don't even see that concrete pad it's going to come down on again that was all
01:20built by volunteers doing the Greenways work camp yeah it's fantastic
01:26that's all right I'll do a little bit of introduction I'll come back if you've
01:32only just joined us here on Somerset live it's Daniel Mumby here your local
01:35democracy reporter we're in Shepton Mallet you join me at the edge of the
01:38West Shepton playing fields which is very wet underfoot the water is already
01:42getting into my trainers but it doesn't matter because we are watching the
01:45installation of a new footbridge and cycle bridge over the b3136 West Shepton
01:52which is just down in that that clearing there the road has been closed
01:58off for that huge crane and they are now lowering the new bridge into place you
02:02might have just heard Mick Fletcher from the Strawberry Line Association and
02:06saying that it'll take around half an hour to finish lowering it ensure that
02:12it's secured on the foundations which have been constructed by contractors and
02:16volunteers you can see many of them up on the high-vis brigade there up on the
02:22banks this new bridge was ordered earlier in the year and is now
02:27completely ready to be installed and because it's being set in a certain way
02:33it can be used all year round if you have any comments or questions about the
02:39bridge I'll answer them to the best of my abilities like I said there are lots
02:42of volunteers from the Strawberry Line here today along with Greenways and
02:46cycle routes who have been instrumental in this project and we hope to chat to a
02:52couple of the the great and the good as we go through the rest of the project
03:05we've had a fantastic turnout here this afternoon we've managed to stay clear of
03:10the rain
03:19the first person walking across the new bridge which isn't quite fixed in place
03:24yet but I'm sure that's been thoroughly risk-assessed just gonna see if I can
03:34get a little closer and that should give you a better view of it being lowered
03:39onto those stanchions there Richard so we're right now you can see the B3136
03:50down there below you and we'll just just pause so they can put the finishing
03:57touches
04:10yes the voice you just heard is Richard Wilkins from Somerset Council portfolio
04:15holder for transport this must be a real halcyon day for you seeing this
04:18completed
04:21yeah so like I said at the start of the stream it'll take around another 20
04:40minutes or so for things to be fully fitted in place but we're gonna hang
04:47around here for as long as we can
04:52because it's in place it will take a day or so before all the safety barriers have to be erected
04:59on both sides of the bridge down to the connecting part
05:03because this is going to be used, mark my words, by hundreds if not thousands of young people
05:09and we just need to make sure that the connection between
05:21and there we have it the bridge is in place they're now going to to screw it
05:26into those concrete blocks and as Ros White was just saying hopefully you
05:30could hear her over the chainsaws end of this week for full public use yes it's
05:45absolutely fantastic absolutely fantastic we'll come back to you in just
05:51a moment I'm going to just peer over this fence to show the amount of
05:57clearing that's gone on to get the crane in place and create the room for this
06:02bridge and just to put the path into context so this now runs not too far
06:10from the the sidings estate over here and connects up with the existing
06:14stretch of path that goes down the side of the playing fields and runs currently
06:18all the way out to Ridge Lane right on the western edge of the parish of
06:23Shepton Manor into the neighboring parishes and that will eventually link
06:26up with the Wells and Dolcott stretch which we explored earlier in the year
06:30and hopefully I don't want to say anything too detailed because there are
06:34legal discussions still going on hopefully that last little gap between
06:37Wells and Shepton will be closed very very quickly
06:45so as Ros Wyke who is former leader of Mendip District Council one of the
06:51Somerset Council members until recently was on the Executive Committee and it'll
06:57be a couple of days we're probably looking at Friday before the route is
07:01officially open so in the meantime please do not try and trespass on the
07:07new bridge
07:14it is a sight for sore eyes it's going to look absolutely superb
07:33it's worth pointing out one of the reasons it's taken this long to get the
07:36bridge in place and why it's meant to be built higher than the original railway
07:40abutments
07:43pausing for chainsaws again
07:50is to ensure that HGVs and the current specifications can pass underneath it
07:57without clipping the bridge if they had just built it on those abutments of the
08:04old railway bridge which you can see there where the combi safe signs are it
08:08would have been rather more borderline so the price we pay for larger vehicles
08:13and taller buses but now it's looking in place and I really actually like that
08:21shade of blue it's it's one that doesn't naturally blend in but it's it's quite
08:26striking and it's a it really really says that this is here I wonder if they
08:33attempted to paint it in strawberry red to go along with the theme but we'll see
08:39if we can get an answer to that
08:45you can see now
08:49what going on to ensure the bridge is level and stable before they start
08:54drilling in the screws that will hold it to those concrete foundations you might
08:57just be able to make out the inscriptions on that side on the two
09:03joint the two posts one for Greenways and cycle routes and one saying
09:07strawberry line Greenways and cycle routes it's a local consultancy firm
09:12it's been involved in the construction of numerous active travel routes across
09:15rural areas and some are saying including elements of the Bristol and
09:18Bath tunnel route and they have been absolutely valuable invaluable in
09:25getting the remaining sections of the strawberry line delivered and this is
09:30not the end of the process of course for Shepton because work is going on to
09:35finish off the link towards the sidings there are various land negotiations
09:41going on yes well we're just going to back away from the chainsaw see if we
09:48can hear ourselves think and we'll have another word with Ross if that's okay
09:51yes so Ross obviously you've you've been leader of Mender District Council you've
09:57you've seen a lot of the the little projects delivered just tell us in a
10:02nutshell what today means for you and the people of Shepton
10:07The people of Shepton it means they can connect across their whole town. Just under 10,000 people live in Shepton and the majority of them live on the other side of Hilton Road
10:19which is as you can see narrow, dark and very dangerous and very well used and we've got a
10:25connection now and it connects the playing fields, the pump park, the skateboard park, the football club, the Scout Hut.
10:34It's I mean Shepton's got an amazing amount of sports facilities here and this
10:40makes sure there is safe access for people walking, cycling, wheelchairs, push
10:46chairs, you name it and that's what this bridge will deliver for Shepton and I'm
10:52absolutely delighted both as Mender leader but also as somebody who's
11:00campaigned for 20 years for walking and cycling paths across our county and
11:05across Mender and we've spoken on many times about other bits of the path but
11:10this one and it's a combination of getting all the volunteers here, all the
11:14people committed and finding those small pots of money to do it and you'll see we have officers here from both Sunset Council and the former Mender District Council who've been party to this, who've actually helped deliver these paths because at the end of the day we've closed the road here in Shepton today to bring in the crane to actually cut down some dangerous dying ash trees
11:40to ensure that everything is done as safely as possible but it's the way we need to do it, it's volunteers where possible and having the right health and safety links into the council where we need it so one way or the other it's working and for me personally, it's my red letter day, I'm so super excited about having this bridge, it's a real, all the doubting Thomases I've spoken to
12:10well yes of course you can use my land but you know, will it really happen? To the planning officer who said no I don't think this path will ever happen, it is, it's been sitting in the local land for Mender since 1991 and that's the length of the vision
12:33other parts of the country, they saved the railway lines, these went into private ownership and we've now had to claim them back and we've managed to with a lot of support from landowners, from people in the community who really believe that if you allow people, they will walk, they will cycle, they will get out of a car because why else would we live in such a beautiful part of the country if we couldn't enjoy the countryside?
13:03I couldn't have put that better myself, we should probably just briefly touch on the other sections which are sort of happening more in your neck of the woods, there's the early stage of the work going on to extend the eastern section towards Wells, in the longer term we're looking at joining up Wells and Cheddar a bit more easily, I mean although this is a brilliant day for you, as far as you're concerned, the fight's not over to finish the whole lot is it?
13:26No, and I mean, you know, worrying my son's health will have a problem, we're very aware that the communities in Langford, the communities over the outside Weston's Island and towards Bridgewater, many many places throughout the whole of the county are wanting, are crying out for parks to link communities to avoid that are dangerous roads, everyone knows rural roads are more dangerous than urban ones but we don't have the investment
13:55and that's why Somerset Council has been lobbying really hard to actually get further funding for projects, but it is really something which the current Somerset Council are really prioritising to help local communities get the ambition of parks wherever possible.
14:18Interestingly, the LTNs, the local community networks which were brought in by the new council to pull together parish councils to have shared ambition and improvement, many of those are actively working on their links between their communities, so it will become, and my goal has been for some years now, a walking and cycling county, we have some brilliant countryside, we have a lot of level land as well,
14:48as well as some wonderful hills, and one way or the other, this county is going to become really known for its walking and cycling opportunities and the pleasure we can bring not only to our local residents but to our many visitors we have too.
15:07Ros, thank you for your time. Ros Wyke there, former leader of Mendip District Council, formerly the portfolio holder for Economic Development Planning and Assets, now just a Division Mendip for Mendip West, which represents a lot of the villages to the western edge of Wales and beyond, and as we said earlier in the live stream, this new bridge will form part of continuing efforts to link up Wales and Shepton Mallet, taking traffic, pedestrians and cyclists in particular, away from the twisty,
15:37busy and often pavement-less A371 which stretches away, we explored the Dulcet extension not far from the Charlie Bigham site earlier this year and there is, like I say, negotiations going on at the moment to join up this section which ends at Ridge Lane, around a quarter of a mile or so in that direction, to the Dulcet extension.
16:08And over they go.
16:16So now the cranes,
16:23now the cables are being loosened off and disconnected which means the bridge can be
16:28freestanding under its own weight and the gentleman operating the crane will slowly just
16:35move that out of the way, ensuring that it doesn't get tangled in any of the trees. We are very close to the woodline here and as Ros was saying, a number of those trees have had to be cut back as a result of ash dieback, but obviously trying to do it, removing as few trees and shrubs as humanly possible, you want to preserve the rural character of these routes.
16:57If you've only just joined us here on Somerset Live, it's Daniel Mumby here, your local Democracy reporter and we are here at the installation of a new bridge over the B3136 at West Shepton on the edge of Shepton Mallet
17:18and this will form part of the Strawberry Line multi-user path that will eventually run all
17:23the way from Yatton railway station to the eastern edge of Shepton Mallet and link up with
17:28the Windsor Hill tunnel route which is also slowly but surely coming together. We got here just as
17:35the crane was being employed on this closed road this morning to lower the bridge into place over
17:44the old railway bridge that once stood here. A lot of this is the former Cheddar Valley railway line
17:48that was dismantled in the mid-1960s and they are just ensuring that the bridge is
17:58straight and level and where it needs to be before they can start screwing it into place.
18:06A little bit of a bounce or a wobble there.
18:18So
18:42just taking a look there are the the metal feet which are going on
18:47the foundation posts into which the bridge will sit. Of course there are tolerances built into
18:54the bridge so on a very cold day like this it will be a certain size but on hot days at the
18:59height of summer it will expand within certain limits and the metal has been designed so that
19:04it doesn't corrode or crack easily. This bridge will be here for many many years, many many
19:08decades to come, as long as the council and volunteers look after it, which I'm sure they will.
19:18Unfortunately I'm not close enough to need to wear any high-vis or PPE and I've been on enough
19:24construction sites to know that it's hard to find stuff in my size, especially when it comes to
19:28finding size 12 steel toe cap boots. So thank yourself lucky that I'm standing on this side
19:33of the road and not down there in the mud.
19:36Thank you for everyone who's joined us so far. Like I say if you have any questions about the
19:53construction process which we haven't already answered or which Ross didn't address
19:57then please do drop a note in the comments and I'll get to them live if possible. If not we'll
20:02see if we can get a response to you after the event. We're going to hang around here for a
20:06little while longer as they get the bridge in place.
20:26Someone's even using a drone. You might just be able to see it above our heads as it hovers away.
20:31Jimmy, I'm going to assume your comment is somewhat facetious.
20:34Shepton has a lot going for it. It's a a bustling little town. I think there's quite a lot to be
20:39excited about.
20:45Rads, I don't have a precise figure for the clearance. What we do know is that it is high
20:50enough that you can get an HGV or a double-decker bus underneath it, hence why the bridge is not
20:57resting on the existing railway abutments. You can see they're where the track originally would
21:02have set. They've had to put it up higher so when the path is completed there will be a gradual
21:08incline of around 1 in 20 to take you up to this level. It's one of the reasons why the bridge has
21:14taken so long to get to this point in stall. It was ordered back in the summer but it had to be
21:18constructed to such a level that they could get a double-decker or HGV underneath it and
21:24like I say I couldn't tell you in centimetres or feet and inches how much of a gap there would be
21:28between the top of a lorry and the bottom of the bridge but I'm sure that it's been taken into
21:33account. What we might do is we might try and get a word in a minute with Richard Wilkins, the
21:38Portfolio Member for Transport. You saw him briefly on the stream but
21:42he might be able to answer that question on a more technical level.
21:53You can see volunteers hard at work down in the clearing ditching
22:04elements of ash trees which are having to be removed.
22:14Plenty of banging going on. I'm never sure exactly of the technical or the engineering term
22:20but rest assured the contractors are hard at work to try and get the bridge installed in the
22:27next few minutes. Thank you for bearing with us and for your company thus far here on Somerset Live.
22:36If you've missed any part of this stream of course once we've finished broadcasting it
22:39will be available indefinitely so you could scroll right back through and see the crane
22:44actually lifting the bridge in motion, the first people to walk across it but we will reiterate
22:50in line with what Ros was saying that the actual path will not be open until about Friday
22:57to sort of come over from the existing stretch that is open by the playing fields.
23:02So by all means come down here to the playing fields once the construction is finished and
23:06take a look at it but wait until Friday and all the safety barriers are in place before actually
23:11trying to cross it on foot or on a bicycle. Small price to pay I think for actually having this
23:16fantastic structure all set up and ready to go.
24:17So what I'm going to do is I'm going to step back from the edge just for a moment
24:30and we'll see
24:34in just a moment whether Richard is free to have a quick chat. We'll just give you a wide shot here.
24:39There's plenty of volunteers still still hanging around taking pictures, video chatting to the
24:49various contractors on here and like I say it won't be long before the actual route is open.
25:05Taking it up again.
25:09Yes
25:21No no no don't don't
25:39No
25:48You just stand in front of there. Right thanks for bearing with us just that. Richard Wilkins
25:52has joined us, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Waste Services and another active travel
25:59enthusiast working on projects in his division of Currie Rival but we'll stick with Shepton for
26:03today. Just talk us through what this project means for you as the Portfolio Holder and the
26:08difference that it's going to make to this town. Well it's going to make a huge difference to the
26:13town as it's going to link up the town with this fantastic park and all the assets that it's got.
26:21It's got a public track, a skateboard park and of course a football club. It's a vital link but more
26:29importantly it's part of the whole strawberry line which is going to link from eventually from
26:37Nailsea all the way through Wells and then eventually becomes part of the whole circle,
26:44Sunset Circle and with Spurs off it which is going to go across the whole county eventually.
26:53Yeah one of the things that we've talked about a lot on these live streams about the strawberry
26:58line is that the cost of delivering these projects is actually relatively
27:03relatively affordable compared to sort of urban cycle lanes. Can you talk a bit about
27:09the way that the council's looking at projects like this elsewhere in the county using the same
27:13kind of methods? Absolutely, the volunteer method has advantages not only with the price of delivery
27:22but actually gets the engagement of the whole community and once the whole community is behind
27:28a project it really gathers steam and you get what you get today which is a bridge lifted into
27:35place. How fantastic, you can't go wrong and it really really goes to our whole Somerset ethos
27:43of sustainability and active travel. Obviously we've got on the financial side of things we've
27:51got the chancellor giving her first budget at the end of the month, the council setting its own
27:56budget in February next year. Obviously we don't need to go into the fine details of the sums yet
28:01but what assurances can you give people that investing in these kind of routes will remain
28:06a top priority for the council even with all the financial pressures that you face?
28:11Well like we said earlier putting money into these schemes is a lot cheaper than other ways of
28:21putting money into the county and it's such an investment it provides health and tourism
28:31and everything that people need and require to have a more sustainable and healthier county.
28:40That's excellent Richard Wilkins, thank you very much I'll let you carry on. Richard Wilkins there
28:44portfolio holder for transport at Somerset council we're just going to give another closer
28:49look at the bridge site just some more of the work that's going on down there to deal with the
28:56ash die back. They're slowly but surely getting the bridge into position and I will just point
29:03out here some of the new signage that's being installed directing people to the route once
29:09it's all done. We're just going to hang around here for another couple of minutes
29:13see if they're going to get that left-hand side lowered back into place.
29:20Yes no problem at all yes we've been just told to move out of someone else's shot which we're
29:25more than happy to do. I'm just going to go a little further back there are a lot of people
29:30milling around with cameras and video and like I say a drone earlier and the last thing we want
29:36to do is get in each other's way.
29:42Looks like he's all done and dusted so we'll just move back in for another couple of minutes or so.
29:46Thank you so much for everyone who's joined us so far. Hopefully we've been able to answer a lot of
29:53your questions either through my commentary or the interviews that we've had with Ros and Richard.
30:05Oh
30:16in go the drills you can just see there or you can certainly hear it. Chainsaws on one
30:23side drills on the other and here I am stuck in the middle but those drills we're putting in
30:30those metal feet I suppose we call them that will hold the bridge in place
30:36I'm not going to give you that full soundtrack of things for another 20 minutes or so we'll
30:43we'll probably wrap things up in about 60 seconds but just as a fun
30:47this is a final little recap before you start worrying about whether you need to go to the
30:51dentist. This is the B3136 West Shepton. If you follow the road out in this direction you
30:57eventually end up in in Pilton and the back roads into Glastonbury. This is the section of the
31:04Strawberry Line and this bridge will connect the West Shepton playing fields where we are
31:10currently. You can just see the pump track behind us and the football pitches. The existing stretch
31:15of path which runs along those line of trees from Ridge Lane and Ridge Road it will connect
31:21over to the Sidings Estate and eventually run through picking up the section of path near
31:28Collet Park and the former Mendeb offices and that will be the eastern terminus of the Strawberry
31:34Line here in Shepton Mallet. All of these little links and like I say work is going on elsewhere
31:39on this extraordinary path out in eastern in the Haybridge area of Wales and work is happening
31:46elsewhere in Shepton Mallet today as well there's so many dedicated volunteers along with the
31:51contractors who are slowly but surely making this happen but I think we're going to leave
31:55things there for the live stream to allow the workmen to to work in peace without me constantly
32:00rabbiting on. Thanks for bearing with us with all the sound issues it's very very busy there's lots
32:05to do here but by the end of the day this bridge will be completely fitted and fixed and by Friday
32:11if Ross is to be believed you'll be able to walk across from one side of Shepton to the other.
32:16If you missed any part of this it'll be available indefinitely on our Facebook page
32:21and I shall be back again with another live stream this weekend when we'll be in Yeovil
32:26talking about the up Mudford housing development which could be approved as early as next week.
32:31In the meantime this is Daniel Mumby your local democracy reporter here from Shepton Mallet.
32:35Thank you for your company and good luck using the new bridge at the end of the week. Bye for now.