MP and business concern grows over Cookham Bridge closure:
Following a visit to a business in Cookham High Street, local MP Theresa May is continuing to put pressure on the Council on the problems caused for local businesses by the closure of Cookham Bridge. Theresa has pressed the Royal Borough to treat these works as urgent and to reopen this much needed transport link at the earliest opportunity.
Theresa commented: "The message I continue to get from local businesses is that the closure of Cookham Bridge is having a major impact on them and there is a lack of communication from the Council. This lack of information only exacerbates the uncertainty faced by the local community in Cookham. It is welcome news that permission has been granted for work on the bridge to be conducted over the weekends but why did this not happen from the very beginning? I have pressed the Royal Borough to publish a detailed timetable with a clear date for the works’ completion so businesses can hold the RBWM to account and, crucially, plan for the months ahead.”
Devine Flowers a local business impacted by the Cookham Bridge closure commented: “We are continually unimpressed by the RBWM’s lack of urgency and understanding of the situation the bridge closure is having on businesses on both sides of the bridge and the dreadful planning and logistics that are coming to light weekly. We requested at the Town Hall meeting in October 2023 that our council representatives showed us the respect of transparency in sharing the working schedule and progress updates of this project. We feel that the contractors have dictated an unacceptable timeframe to the council which they have freely and without consequence accepted. This clearly has impacted greatly on the viability and commercial enterprise on the high street.”
