A Kirtlebridge farmer has branded plans to infill a bridge arch he uses to access his land as “cultural vandalism”.
Dr Iain Gow was horrified to discover the proposal from Highways England for the 152-year-old structure on the B722 road.
The 62-year-old said: “This is cultural vandalism and cannot be justified on engineering grounds.
“This would split my land in two with no access and we’d effectively be landlocked.”
The retired university lecturer told the Standard he received little consultation with Highways England, which manages the historical railways estate for the Department for Transport.
He said: “A letter arrived addressed to my late mother last year, asking to do a wildlife survey and informing us that they were planning to do some repairs.
“They carried out a bat survey but when I asked about repairs I found out it was infilling. I was horrified by the idea that we’d have a split in the land as a result.
“But even Highways England’s own contractor admitted to me the bridge is still in fair condition.”
He added: “It’s 152 years old and needs a few minor repairs, but they would cost a fraction of the £145,000 that infilling is likely to set back the taxpayer.
“I don’t think this is a health and safety issue – I think they want to offload an asset that they don’t have to be liable for in the future.”
The bridge is one of 69 across the country that Highways England plans to infill with concrete over the next five years.
Dr Gow is calling for a U-turn on the Kirtlebridge decision and has contacted councillors and local politicians seeking support.
And he has also received backing from the HRE Group, a heritage campaign group which wants to preserve the bridges.
Dr Gow said: “I felt quite isolated until a few weeks ago dealing with this but the cause has been championed by the HRE Group and now the media. They think it’s unbelievable.
“Highways England said they want to continue discussions – but as far as I’m concerned discussions never even started.
“We were planning to let the land for grazing but this would have a serious impact on that. The bridge is used so I don’t understand how they could do this. There has to be a better solution than this.”
Highways England was contacted for a comment.
