Footbridge should be more suitable

I read with interest in last week’s paper of East Sussex County Council’s satisfaction with Sedlescombe’s new footbridge made out of Fibre Reinforced Polymer. I suppose I should be pleased too that the bridge weighs only a quarter of the old one and, in the long run, that it will be slightly cheaper to maintain. However, as someone who has walked over the old bridge for more than 45 years on a very regular basis, I am more interested in what it looks like and I do not find the new bridge with its powder-coated steel railings as aesthetically pleasing as the wooden bridge. Sedlescombe has been ahead of the game using recycled plastic street furniture but has always been careful to ensure that the items are appropriate for their location. Although not the worst bridge I have ever seen, the new bridge does not fit seamlessly into the edge of the Sedlescombe Conservation Area as well as the old one did. Also, if it had been built on site, it would not have been necessary to use non-matching bricks to build a wall infill where the pre-made bridge didn’t fit.