Leicesters Bow string railway bridge.

This may not be the place to post this in fact it may not be the site to post this either but this subject is close to a few of the leicester guys hearts.

On saturday 12 of september there will be a protest in bede park in leicester protesting against the demolition of this lovely bow string bridge situated in the city.
its on of the very few bow string bridges left of its kind and also one of the very few bridges left in leeicster built for the Great Central Railway.

leciester city council have sold this bridge for £1 yes thats only one pound to demonfort university for them to demolish to make way for a new eyesore of a sports complex. the bridge itself spans a main road and the river soar so the land gain is very minimull.

and to make matters worse the council have sold the bridge and are also paying for it to be destroyed.
there must be some serious backhanders going on somwhere within the council.
the is a facebook group dedicated to the saving of the bridge and its link is ...

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=6836653155

if any of you guys are at a loose end tomorow around 12.45 then please come along and join in this protest. i do beleive there will be media present and alos reps from the council and university.

i havent actualy got any pics of the bridge as the ones i have a way to dark to post but hopefully i can leave it up to one or 2 others that post here to maybe pop a few up.

have actually got this pic from a freind of mine and shows the bridge in all its glory in use many years ago.

hi il try and make it hopefully see you tommorow

ill be there BUT we must keep the chains away from MRsam as i suspect he will try and chain himself to the bridge

lol ive got to come now you have said that just to see him do that

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1P8cME98KY[/ame]


Anyone who can come tomorrow please do, your support is greatly needed to save her !!

Impossible for me to get there but I'll be with you guys in spirit.

A total travesty. Thanks Wayne for highlighting this and Laura for posting the film.

waynezbitz1 said:

ill be there BUT we must keep the chains away from MRsam as i suspect he will try and chain himself to the bridge

Click to expand...

maybe no chains but im very tempted to climb it during said protest



could you imagine the chaos.......road closure and councillers telling me not to jump

well the protest went well and after all that there was a mass exsoduss to the pump and tap pub for a pint in the summer sun.

whilst we were on route some naughty people had broken the locks on the entrance to the gate so the mass exsoduss went on an explore only to find a party going on with mixing decks ect.
so all this turned into "Rave at the bridge"
we had a grewat afternoon all chatting and listening to music and even the 2 resident policemen were only woried in case people climbed on the bridge.
things were ok till the riot van pulled up and then there were around 10 policemen on the bridge, although they wernt kicking people off when people left to refill there pints they wernt being let back on so the crowds quetly dispersed. here are a few pics.


what is that naughty man doing behind the banner with that padlock??


mr policeman talking to the crowds and enjoying himself.


mattdonut playing spiderman (although that normaly mr sams job)



the leicester exploring group sat chilling out.

Nice one wayne !
Might stick a few of mine up when i get chance.
Was a great day and an amazing effort put in by all involved, very very well done chaps !

all i can say is fair play to the guys laying on the music, they played until 8pm and then the police shut the music down.
i suppose it was good of the police to let the guys carry on playing

A few of mine from today, once again.. well done everyone.
Couldn't have asked for better weather or better company to be protesting with. L.L x


Protest on the park, note the Leicester lot in the foreground...


MD and DieHardLove 'adorning' the bridge.


The Leicester lot take a break on the bridge


Rave stylee !!

our flag from previous visits





a bobby early on telling us to get down,,,,its dangerous



soon left us alone to get on with bannering and partying



rave time



this one was a very pleasant chap he is a member of the save the bridge facebook group and an avid adrian edmonson fan his sergant however called in the cavalry to observe from a distance and make sure no one else joined in

Thank you to all for turning up and showing your support,was a cracking day and a big thanx to the party organisers.

THIS BRIDGE WILL BE DEMOLISHED WITHIN 2 WEKS

i had a good time whilst i was there shame i had to leave early on would have been good to have been around for the party. nice to meet some of you guys.

was a really nice day and a very nice night,i really could not have spent it with a better bunch of people,the protest was full of people of various ages even my kids were there all the way up to late 60s all came to one to show a serious side of how much this bridge really means to us all,

we even had our own on site security paid for by the police but to by honest there was one police man who really stood out from the rest as he didnt want to see the bridge go either just a shame his commanding officer was not as nice
our site security shame about the door policy of 1 out no one back in







we even had support from people in the street






all in all this was a peacefull protest where we was able to show how much our bridge means to us
i wont put the pictures up of me raving lol just hope no one else does
did make me chuckle when me,littlelaura,md and sam where told to get down as the bridge is dangerous !!!!!!!!!!!!

I know people are obviously very passionate about keeping this bridge but I have a question.

If the bridge is to be retained how do you propose it is maintained and kept in good condition? It’s not actually in use and isn’t listed then surely keeping it is not viable.

I know it’s always sad to see buildings go and as the banner says “A city without old buildings is like a man without a memory.” But the flip side is that “A city with nothing but derelict buildings is a complete mess.”

Personally I like see old buildings and structures reused over time; but I do sometimes feel that there are times when a building’s use must come to an end. (Having said that I’m sure someone on here posted a link to a story about high level railway lines in America being made in public gardens which seemed a good idea to regenerate sites like this).

Either way; good luck with your future protests.

The_Revolution said:

I know people are obviously very passionate about keeping this bridge but I have a question.

If the bridge is to be retained how do you propose it is maintained and kept in good condition?

Click to expand...

Well here's an idea ........
.......I wonder what the annual budget is in Leicester that is usually wasted......... .ahem.........I'm sorry.
...........I don't mean 'wasted' at all......... I meant to say.....
... 'sensibly spent'.....
.. on ..........detox clinics , replacement needle exchanges, advice centres, lawyers and solicitors to get them through the courts with as minimum a sentence as possible, doctors and nurses to help the poor wee mites back onto their feet after overdoses , counsellors to help them discuss their problems and why they can't stop ruining their own and other folks lives , the Police's time to 'attend' to them when they go housebreaking and mugging to fund their habits or fighting and knifing one another for 'territory' to tout their 'wares' on the streets .......... ?????????
Now then...........I just ....wonder...only 'wonder' mind you............God forbid ......not for one minute would I even be suggesting that we stop spending that money on those sort of things................oh no.....
..... I am merely inquiring and idly wondering what the budget is for all of that sort of stuff in Leicester ???? and....if that money were not so spent ........ would that be sufficient to put a coat of paint on that bridge every couple opf years ?????? Yes?? No???
It does seem very strange to me that we can find plenty of money to benefit a minority of self harming loathsome cretins and yet none for something to enhance and benefit (if only by its grace and beauty and architectural worth) the rest of the decent folk of that city......... .........

A rusty old bridge over human beings.
Good call.

uuuuummmmm...........yes actually.......... you could say that......but only if you classify drug scum as human which for various personal reasons I don't.