No parking - on the Pack Horse Bridge

Added Thursday, 25 September 2008

Update - see below

There are plans to paint yellow lines 20 feet into the town's prized old Pack Horse Bridge. These yellow lines would be painted both sides from the Old Gate end.

Calderdale Council have confirmed to the Hebden Bridge Web that this work was originally planned for Friday. However, because Justin Pringle, the new owner of the The Hole in the Wall, had complained it was temporarily on hold. Justin told the Hebden Bridge Web that he had never ever seen anyone parking on the bridge.

The Hebden Bridge 500 group, who are co-ordinating celebrations of 500 years of the Pack Horse Bridge in 2010, say they can't believe Calderdale Council would want to deface the bridge, after which our town is named, in this way.

Update:

Nigel Pickles, Calderdale Council’s Network Manager, has now told the Hebden Bridge Web:

"Calderdale Council is intending to introduce double yellow lines on the approach to the Pack Horse Bridge to prevent obstructive parking. We are aware of the special status of the Pack Horse Bridge and will ensure that the legally required markings are as sympathetic to the local setting as possible.

"The temporary markings were drawn on the bridge as part of early investigations. The final markings will not be on the bridge itself.

"The double yellow lines will be put on the approach to the bridge to make parking restrictions clearer to members of the public."

The Hebden Bridge Web now has further photos showing where the lines will be:

The circles indicate the markings which show
the extent of the proposed yellow lines

Calderdale Council are claiming that the part of the bridge indicated above is not actually the bridge but "the approach to the bridge" and that yellow lines are a legal requirement.