When the bridge project was originally conceived it was going to be a relatively small scale construction project built by volunteers overseen by Horsham District Council. The goal-posts have moved considerably over the past few months with the need to re-route paths. HDC Parks and Countryside, who will be responsible for the safety of any volunteers working on the project and the safety of users of the finished bridge have decided that a much more substantial construction project is required and that a contractor is needed to carry out the bulk of the work. There will still be some opportunities for volunteers to get involved but less so than originally envisaged.
The money raised by the crowdfund and some significant off-line donations received by Sandgate Conservation Society will still go towards the project and, in fact, will cover a significant proportion of the cost of the entire bridge and paths project. Additional funding is being sought from various sources by HDC.
The current plan (subject to change) is that scrub and tree clearing will start this week to enable the construction of the re-routed path on the Cemex side to the chosen bridge site. On Saturday 22 June Sandgate Conservation Society volunteers will help by felling a number of small trees for the contractor to remove. Details of this work party can be found on our Facebook page and website. The main construction activity will take place between Wednesday 26th June and Friday 19th July. Its expected that volunteers will be asked to help with bolting the bridge together on site on Tuesday 2nd July.