Bridge vote: the council publishes both plans in full
Repair or replace? The documents behind the 4 November vote are now online (sample story).
Issue 412, Thursday 16 October (sample)
The bridge vote: what the valley decides on 4 November
Repair the 1931 bridge or build a new one downstream? We costed both plans, walked both routes and asked the people who cross it every day.
By Maya Lindqvist, local affairs (sample)
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LocalBusinessCultureWhat’s onAdvertising
Issue 412: sixteen pages, on sale Thursday (sample).
Latest news
Market hall reopens with fourteen new stalls
After a year of repairs the hall on Market Street opens on Friday, with a late opening until 21:00 (sample story).
New cycle route along the river opens to the station
Two kilometres of separated cycle lane now link the valley villages to the station (sample story).
Four desks, one valley
Every story in the magazine comes from one of four desks. The colour on each desk is the colour of its pages in the issue.
Local
Council, schools, roads, planning and the people of Springfield and the valley villages.
Business
Shops opening and closing, jobs, the market hall, farming and the firms that employ the valley.
Culture
Books, music, theatre, food and drink: reviews and interviews, written by people who live here.
What's on
Seven days of listings: gigs, markets, talks, sport and family days, with times and prices.
Weekdays at 7:00
The briefing: five stories before breakfast
One short email with the five things worth knowing in the valley today: roads, council, weather, one business story and one thing to do tonight. Free with every subscription.
Two bridges, one vote
The old Wend bridge carries 9,000 crossings a day and needs $4.2 million of repairs. A new bridge 400 metres downstream would cost $7.8 million and close the old one to cars (sample figures).
We walked both routes with a wheelchair user, a delivery driver and the head of the primary school on the far bank. This week’s issue sets out what each plan means for them, what the council has promised and what it has not.
By Maya Lindqvist. Photographs by Sam Okoro (sample). In print on pages 4 to 6.
What's on this week
Seven days in the valley, chosen by the listings desk. Send your event in by Monday noon for the next issue.
Fri 17 Oct
Late opening at the market hall
Market Street, 17:00 to 21:00
Free
Sat 18 Oct
Autumn book festival: opening talk
Town library, 11:00
$6
Sat 18 Oct
The Riverbend Players: an evening of folk
Corn Exchange, 19:30
$14
Sun 19 Oct
Repair café: bring a broken lamp
St Anne’s hall, 10:00 to 13:00
Free
Wed 22 Oct
Public meeting on the bridge plans
Town hall, 18:30
Free
Listings (sample). Example prices.
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Corrections
Mistakes are fixed online within a day and listed on page 2 of the next issue.
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Who pays
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