Bid for financial compensation for those affected by Kirkcudbright Bridge closure

Daily Record

15-05-2025

Around 120 people attended a meeting of the new Kirkcudbright Bridge Action Group on Monday night.
A bid is being made to secure financial compensation for those affected by the closure of Kirkcudbright Bridge.
Around 120 people attended a meeting of the new Kirkcudbright Bridge Action Group on Monday night.
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And one of the items up for discussion was help for those who have been hit in the pocket since the council closed the bridge in March due to safety concerns.
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Nick Morris from Station House Cookery School said: 'We're looking at getting financial compensation for both residents and businesses.
'Residents who live on the other side of the bridge, their milage has greatly increased. It's about a 10 mile detour – that's about £3 or £4 each way.
'That's £8 a day, which is quite a bit of money over the months.
'Footfall is down for businesses so we're looking at financial support as there are precedents around the country.'
Mr Morris, Gerry Hassan from Kirkcudbright Fringe and Chris Walker from The Selkirk Arms were among those who organised Monday's meeting in the Johnston.
A new Kirkcudbright Action Group Facebook page has now been launched, attracting more than 200 members within 12 hours.
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Mr Morris added: 'We brought the group together to support local residents, tradespeople and businesses in Kirkcudbright on both sides of the bridge.
'We are looking at issues such as improving the signage on the A75. We're looking at getting nice, big signs saying Kirkcudbright is open for business – the bridge may be shut but Kirkcudbright isn't.
'We're also looking at how to keep things in the media because we don't want this issue to just die away.
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'We've a great amount of events going on over the summer. We have Spring Fling next week, which Kirkcudbright is a central part of. We have all of the Summer Festivities activities, we have the arts and crafts trail and we have Kirkcudbright Fringe.
'We really want the message out these events are on, please do come and support.
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'We've had really good support from MSPs Emma Harper and Finlay Cousin and our councillors, Dougie Campbell, John Denerley and Andy McFarlane have all been really supportive Andy was at the meeting and taking questions.
'We were collecting ideas from everyone who attended – what they think could help and what we could do to facilitate that.'
'The majority of people were really positive and the feedback we've had is really positive.'
A new email address – [e-mail] – has been set-up for anyone who would like to make suggestions or receive updates. Mr Morris can also be contacted at Station House Cookery School on 07493 242792.