A tale of splendid Britishness and bungling bureaucracy for you. We were drawn by this tale of unfinished, er, bridgeness in Colliers Wood. The bridge, which spans the Wandle and was proposed originally to connect a housing development with a nature park on the opposite bank, was erected in 2007, but then abandoned as there were concerns about the flow of the river. There was also a bit of a grey area as to who was meant to finish the structure, with Wimpey adamant that the council had agreed to supply access ramps.
Our first reaction on reading this tale was glee: we love
follies, and London can always do with more. Furthermore, we thought, what a great place for an art installation - seems we were not alone in this. But then we read through the Collier Woods Residents Association's brilliantly documented tale of woe, told with laconic humour, and instantly regretted our previous churlish outburst. The whole thing is (perhaps literally) a monumental fuck-up, and they deserve to get their bridge fixed. This Saturday the residents held a 2nd birthday party for the truncated fixture, celebrating with songs and unfinished cake. Love it.
Perhaps Boris, with his avowed interest in the 'burbs, and recent benificence towards Colliers Wood would like to wave his magic Wandle toward the river too.
Image by miuzikboy via the Londonist flickr pool.
