Hundreds of festive shoppers have pledged their support to a campaign to have a controversial bridge ripped down.
Members of the Matlock Footbridge Campaign group, which is demanding the removal of the metal footbridge near the new Sainsbury’s store, were out in force at the town’s Victorian Market at the weekend.
Around 430 shoppers put pen-to-paper on their
petition demanding the bridge’s removal – adding to 170 signatures posted on an online version.
Isabella Stone, a Matlock resident and one of the campaign leaders, said: “We set up the campaign and the petition because we knew many people in Matlock and beyond were shocked and upset about the way the footbridge has destroyed a key part of the town’s Victorian heritage.
“The support we gained from visitors to the Victorian market, and the fact that people are still going on-line to sign up to the website petition, shows how strong the feeling is.”
Campaign leaders say they will continue to collect signatures on the petition in the run-up to Christmas, with the intention of presenting it to Sainsbury’s and Derbyshire Dales District Council in the new year.
The footbridge was built by Sainsbury’s to provide pedestrian and wheelchair access to its new superstore at Cawdor Quarry.
Derbyshire Dales District Council gave the construction the go-ahead despite claims that its position, close to the Victorian railway station, the grade II listed Station Master’s House and inside Matlock Conservation Area, was inappropriate.
Sainsbury’s bosses promised to listen to residents’ concerns when the petition was launched.
l To read and sign the online petition, go to the www.matlockfootbridge.org.uk website.
The full article contains 286 words and appears in DT Peak Edition newspaper.
