First of three Preston bridges installed over railway and canal
Cleveland Bridge UK has completed the installation of the first of a trio of bridges that will form key elements of a major infrastructure project in Lancashire.
The 250m Lea Viaduct was installed during a six-week programme using a crawler crane.
Working in partnership with main contractor Costain and project engineers Jacobs and Atkins, Cleveland Bridge designed and fabricated the bridge in five 50m sections each made up of five pairs of girders to form a crossing over the Lancaster Canal and the Preston to Blackpool railway line.
The team had to tackle the challenges of working over water and the railway line on a site that was accessed via a tight country lane.
Insight
5 Feb 2021, 11:05
The Law Commission described the law around compulsory purchase orders as “an unwieldy and lumbering creature” in its
Towards a Compulsory Purchase Code report.
In truth, part of the reason why the law is challenging is the schizophrenic nature of the approach the Courts have taken to compulsory acquisition.
So in one case the Court of Appeal referred to the “draconian” nature of the exercise of compulsory purchase power, whereas the House of Lords described the power as: “an essential tool in a modern democratic society [that] facilitates planned and orderly development.”
It is strange then that despite the nature of the creature, the powers available to Local Authorities are increasingly being used as a vehicle to secure development and regeneration.
Dan Whelan
Bloor Homes and Taylor Wimpey have submitted a joint planning application to build up to 500 homes on land off Sandy Lane and Tabley Lane in Cottam, north-west of Preston city centre.
The site forms part of the North West Preston Strategic Location zone, 788 acres south of the M55, which is allocated for residential development of up to 5,300 properties.
Bloor and Taylor Wimpey’s proposals are for a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom family homes and also a local centre that could feature retail and leisure facilities.
In addition, an area of land within the site has been earmarked for the construction of a secondary school.