BATTLE FOR WINDSOR BRIDGE
The battle to save historic Windsor Bridge has gathered pace with Hawkesbury City Council joining the calls to State Government not to demolish the 1874 bridge after construction of the new Windsor Bridge is completed.
Council is endorsing calls to repurpose the Heritage-listed bridge as a walkway for pedestrians and cyclists, linking Windsor Town Centre to Macquarie Park.
An online petition at www.change.org/windsorbridge to save old Windsor Bridge already has over 9,500 signatures. Plans by council to hold a signing at Thompson Square, Windsor this Sunday, July 19 have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
Hawkesbury Mayor Barry Calvert said the council had been lobbying the State Government about saving the old Windsor Bridge for the past year.
“We are asking the Government to put a hold on the demolition of the existing structure to fully explore the vast opportunity that the recognised heritage structure can provide to Windsor,” he said.
“We want the State Government to support us in working with the local community – we want to do this for the long-term benefit of our community; they have already experienced losses in the fires and floods, we want to avoid any further losses.”
“We are looking at medium and long-term benefits for our community and the whole of NSW. We’re asking the State Government not to be short sighted about saving the old 1874 bridge and the huge potential it offers to our community as a tourist attraction and Public space of State Heritage significance.”
Several resident’s groups, including Defenders of Thompson Square and CAWB (Community Action for Windsor Bridge), are pushing to turn the old Windsor Bridge into a pedestrian walkway and cycleway with the potential for pop up markets and art shows and heritage displays.
They say as well as being a useful asset it will create an additional tourist attraction in Windsor and maintain a historic part of the town’s identity.
Arguments that the bridge will be costly to maintain have been rejected by both council and community groups who say the old bridge has withstood 86 floods and has been endorsed by several engineers.
The petition is online at www.change.org/windsorbridge
