Introduction
The bridge is one of the five key proposals for improvement to the heart of the waterfront identified in the Stratford-upon-Avon Masterplan. It is part of the multi million pound World Class Stratford project, for which substantial funding has already been secured from the Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands.
The proposed bridge will be an important enhancement to the local transport network. More importantly, it will:
- Provide pedestrians and cyclists with improved access over the river;
- Facilitate wider recreational enjoyment of open spaces through better access and dispersal of pedestrians;
- Offer residents and those walking from parking and other surrounding areas an attractive route to the theatre and into the town centre;
- Provide a circular scenic walk along the river;
- Provide an important link into the national cycle network, and;
- As a new landmark development, make Stratford more attractive to tourists, local visitors and residents alike.
These pages are part of the consultation process that ran to the end of October to gather views of the public and local stakeholders on the five proposals. These were not only an opportunity to view the schemes, but also to give written feedback.
A panel of judges met on 9th November 2006 to make a final assessment of the five designs.
The judges’ choice was based on the feedback from the public consultation, along with technical considerations.
The five companies who drew up the designs are (in no particular order):
- Dissing & Weitling, Architects / Flint & Neill Partnership, Engineers
- Whitby Bird Bridges Team
- Ian Ritchie, Architects / Schlaich Bergermann and Partner, Engineers
- Spence Associates, Architects / Buro Happold, Engineers
- Wilkinson Eyre, Architects / Arup, Engineering
The judging panel considered the technical appraisal of the designs and the outcome of the public consultation, before also recommending that bridge design B should be considered further, by the County Council. Design B was submitted by Ian Ritchie Architects/Schlaich Bergerman & Partner. One of the considerations that swung the panel was the prospect of the bridge being the ‘thinnest arch bridge in the world’. The panel also liked the fact that the design was very sensitive to the setting, being ‘modest simple and elegant’, something that many members of the public had also commented on.
Warwickshire County Council has agreed that the competition winning design B for a new bridge for Stratford upon Avon should be taken further and a more detailed design developed.
In December 2006, full council debated whether to proceed with detailed designs of the bridge following a resolution by the cabinet. The majority vote of 31 to 10 meant that work has been progressed to a position where a planning application could be submitted. A decision on whether the scheme will proceed to seeking planning approval will be made by cabinet in the next few months.
A copy of the County Council report
can be found here. |
The designs on these pages are schemes created by five top architects in the country following an international competition for tenders. The competition was organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), for a world-class pedestrian and cycle footbridge in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The idea and support for a new bridge originated from consultation carried out for Warwickshire County Council’s Local Transport Strategy in 2003 and was outlined in the Waterfront Masterplan adopted by Stratford-upon-Avon District Council as Supplementary Planning Guidance. You can see both of these documents by clicking on the links opposite. |  | Open the Waterfront Masterplan (4.8Mb PDF format)
Please note, the location of the bridge on drawings in the Waterfront Masterplan is not correct. The correct proposed location is as shown in the drawing below:
Bridge location map
Link to the South Warwickshire section of the Local Transport Plan 2006-11
To open the above documents, you will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader
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