Bridge Of Sighs

Rope Walk will be cut off from the rest of the town while essential maintenance work is carried out to the pedestrian bridge.

Instead of a short walk into town, there will be a free bus service for the two-mile road journey into Littlehampton.

But residents are worried the bus may not always be there when it is needed, for early morning workers and children crossing the river to go to school, and may not be suitable for elderly and disabled people among Rope Walk's 100-plus residents, some confined to wheelchairs.

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council, which is responsible for the bridge, told the Gazette: "We want to make sure local people do not suffer and that transport is available when they need it."

News of the closure emerged at a Littlehampton Harbour Board meeting on Monday, when members expressed surprise at the duration of the repairs and their timing if work starts, as originally scheduled, at the end of March, the bridge will still be closed during the summer holidays and at the regatta weekend in early August.

Board chairman Dr James Walsh said closing the bridge

at the start of the tourist season was "outrageous". Members agreed a letter should be written to the county council, asking why the board had not been consulted.

Asked Dr Walsh: "Is it absolutely necessary to close it for 20 weeks? It seems an extraordinary amount of time for maintenance. You could build a bridge in that time."

Board member Ricky Bower complained: "This is entirely the most inappropriate time of the year to start the work. We are talking about five months. It's crazy."

Harbour master Colin Hitchcock said the bridge was not in a healthy state. The centre span, which retracts to allow larger ships through, had stuck once or twice and was making ominous grating noises. "If we get a ship in, and can't get it out again because the bridge is stuck, the county council would be liable for any costs."

It is likely the centre span will be retracted throughout the repairs, so shipping can pass through, but Rope Walk resident Angela Maddox said the closure to pedestrians and cyclists would cause much disruption to people living on the west bank.

Valerie Lee, who has run the Leeside Caf at Rope Walk with her husband David for 15 years, feared they would lose trade from regular customers who parked the other side of the bridge and walked across, and passing trade from tourists walking over the bridge to West Beach.

"We see people walking to work at 6am will the bus be there for them? And there has been no ferry now for a couple of years, so there is no alternative for tourists except waiting for a bus, which could be a long time when the road is busy. We have been kept in the dark. There have been no notices, only rumours."

Peter Davis, who lives above his chandlery business at Rope Walk, said: "No one knew anything about this. We consider ourselves the lost side, over here. We are always ignored, forgotten."

The county spokesman said an exact start date and the length of time for working could not be decided until the contract had been awarded. The work was necessary because a lot of the machinery needed replacing. There would be consultation with the town council over people's needs.

"Hopefully 20 weeks can be avoided, but that is a figure we are working to."