Are cracks appearing on more than just Elm Bridge in poor old Cranleigh.

The West of the borough is coming under pressure from all angles – developers – political spats and now a bridge on the B 2130 on one of the village’s  important l roads is cracking up.

WW hears the old railway bridge across the Downlink which leads from the High Street at Cranleigh Common  onto Elmbridge Road feeding  onto the A281 is cracking up along with its  parish council! In other words turmoil all around.

The fissure now regarded as ” serious” by highway experts was spotted by an eagle eyed member of the Cranleigh Civic Society.  One of the most valuable additions to enter the Cranleigh scene for many years.

The Society, formed to protect Cranleigh’s green fields from an onslaught of developers   is determined to protect everything that is good about the place. It certainly did a good job when it discovered sewage polluting Craneigh’s ditches and now CCS member Adrian Clark has discovered the crack in the bridge.

The society reported the issue to Surrey County Council some time back but now claims the crack is getting worse. “Having not heard back from them, we revisited the bridge four weeks later, and we believe that in the meantime the crack has got worse. Isn’t there a serious safety issue here? “Right now, if there was a heavy lorry stuck in slow moving traffic on top of the bridge, we wouldn’t want to be riding in it. However, a spokesman for the county council has said: “we are aware of the issues and are currently looking at what repairs can be made to make it as safe for our residents as possible”

Well that fills us all with confidence – doesn’t it?

What is also worrying the CCS is that the bridge straddles the Downs Link which is extensively used by pedestrians, dog walkers, cyclists, running groups, and horse riders so it is not only vehicles that appear to be at risk.”

At the same time, an even bigger  crack has  appeared within Cranleigh Parish Council’s ranks  over a memorial field and allotments that some councillors are hell bent on wresting away from villagers to cover with concrete.

One WW follower commented – “It would appear poor old Cranleigh is getting it from all angles at the moment – we  feel like we are under siege – in particular the area around Elmbridge with developers champing at the bit to build as many  houses as they can (around 800) – Now Elm Bridge really is, a bridge over troubled waters.”