Meeting 7pm tonight at threatened Moray bridge
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Campaigners will gather at the Cloddach Bridge near Birnie this evening to call for it to be reopened.
The public meeting at 7pm this evening comes ahead of a council meeting tomorrow which could decide the fate of the structure.
Cloddach Bridge, which spans the River Lossie to the south of Elgin, has been closed to vehicles since February after Moray Council officers decided that it was unsafe.
Locals have since been left with increased journey times to and from school and work.
The closure has also created potential problems for the emergency services.
However it's been estimated by Moray Council that replacing the bridge would cost almost £3 million.
A Cloddach Bridge Action Group has been established on Facebook, while a petition calling for its reopening has gained more then 700 signatures.
Jo Knight, who lives near Birnie, set up the Facebook group.
She said: "I don’t think the council realise the impact this has on the local community.
"This is cutting communities in half and the attitude from the council is ‘oh well’.
"They managed to think out of the box and get a bridge to the beach in Lossiemouth.
"We are a rural community but just because there’s less of us doesn’t mean that the bridge shouldn’t be maintained."
Moray Council's economic development and infrastructure committee are set to look at the issue tomorrow.
The committee's members are being advised by council officers not to reopen the bridge to vehicles.
The officers are also advising it should be demolished when it becomes dangerous.
Cloddach Bridge was built in 1905.
The council states it would cost £2.9 million to replace it, £2.34 million to repair it, or £435,000 to make it safe for pedestrians and cyclists.
Jim Mountford is the chairman of Heldon Community Council which has highlighted the problems faced by the local community due to the bridge's closure.
He said: "The only way of access will be over the Allarburn bridge and there’s been problems with that in the past.
"The best solution would be a new bridge, the second best solution would be to make it suitable to carry emergency vehicles."
A weight limit of three tonnes, combined with a two-metre height limit, was introduced last October to try protect the structure from being overloaded.
However, four months later, a decision was taken to close it.
Tonight's meeting will take place at the Cloddach Bridge from 7pm.
