“I am West End of Leicester born and bred and have been following this story from my current home overseas. Every time I return to visit Leicester, I find some new "progress" that the council has inflicted upon the city. Shame on the council for refusing to listen to the people and going ahead with tearing up some more of Leicester's history. Yay, more DMU buildings.
Credit to the campaigners that have worked so hard to try to save the bridge , you deserve medals. Those that are disinterested, critical and insist people should move on, well, I pity your apathy to the loss of your local heritage and disregard for history. Progress is great in the right setting, but there needs to be some control.

Well, I look forward to coming home this Christmas and seeing the latest developments, and maybe a drink in an old favourite pub...oops, no won't be able to do that either, that's being closed and knocked down too.”

“Good points Ed,

To further pick up on the 'flatpack' design mentioned in west end girls comment - Many of the building I think you refer to are around leicester are here because of the DMU not built by DMU. Many of the Student halls are owned and built by private providers - these are quite 'flatpack' but maybe we should be addressing that with the companies that own them, not the university that doesn't. Again perception and reality - very different.

The latest DMU buildings I happen to find quite modern and fit in with the with the older faculty building. These for example are the Campus Centre and the Business and Law.”

“Seriously, it's kind of pointless arguing with someone who thinks that the area around the Magazine hasn't been improved but in for a penny...

There is no evidence whatsoever that most people wanted to keep the bridge. There are over 250,000 people in Leicester, the petition was signed by 6,500 people - many of whom were not even from Leicester. Not that they shouldn't have an opinion of course, just don't try and use that as argument that "the vast majority" wanted the bridge. I suspect the "vast majority" didn't care, but if they had been asked a straight question - swimming pool or bridge - they would have said pool. Thing is it's ridiculous trying to do this for every decision that a council makes and so the council makes decisions based on what it thinks is best in the long run. Not because it gets backhanders or because they're "in bed" with DMU. That's a quickfire way to get a)sacked or b) lose the next election. Everyone involved in local politics knows this is not the case, and anyone who says differently is either uninformed or politicking. And that's not to say that councils don't make mistakes but apart from having a public vote on every decision the council makes (a logistical nightmare that would cost a fortune) I can't think of another way of running a city.

The reason this case got so much attention is not that hard to see. Firstly, it was used by certain parties to bash a council they didn't like. Secondly, it was linked to the railways (something a lot of people are very passionate about). Thirdly an apparent lack of information coming from the council - who definitely should have done more to explain their actions and made the cost issue more transparent. As it is people can come on here and say things like "it'll cost more to knock down than maintain" (which is untrue - onced you've knocked it down the costs are finished - if you choose to maintain it you have costs forever) or that LCC is paying for the demolition (again not true - the amount that the council will receive from DMU will more than cover it - see Mercury of August 4th). And fourthly, a group with their own agenda, the Civic Society, used it (quite rightly) to highlight what they were doing and thus justify their existence (nothing wrong with that - it's all part of the game).

As i said before the most important thing now is to make sure what goes there is a useful and attractive addition to the area. Now is the time to try and influence the council not start throwing rocks.”

“The vast majority either want to keep the bridge or don't actively want it demolished even if they don't care. This is inexact figure is based on comments from passers-by during protests, car hoots by drivers, Leicester Mercury online polls and the 6,500+ signatures on the petition. The support observed has been overwhelming.

The figure of a pound comes from a 'leak' from a council meeting reported in the Leicester Mercury. It also said LCC were paying for the demolition. No one from LCC has denied this but have expressed annoyance at the leak.

The idea of a 'flatpack' design comes from past experience of what DMU have erected when creating new buildings although they have made a good job of restoring some old buildings. Have a look around the campus sometime!”

“Jim - I would like proof of the 'vast majority' of people in the west end. Many people I speak to either do not care or wish for it to be demolised.

Also a lot of speculation has been made into myth. It has been reported that the land will be sold for £1, but not proof of this emerged. The session around finances was a closed session. How do we not know there has been some agreement that will cover the cost of the bridge demolishion.

Another point is that DMU are the only ones who put a viable plan to the council for the space. You must remember it was earmarked for demonlition several years ago.

Another casing point is you mention that the plans for the sports centre have not been drawn up or presented - why is there so much talk about protesters about how it will be 'flatpack' Another myth based on speculation

Perception and reality are very different things and what it seems is a lot of what is being told is a myth and unproven, some might call it properganda.”

“There is an issue here that runs deeper than the Bowstring Bridge. The vast majority of taxpayers from the West End wanted the bridge to remain and feel that the council has completely ignored their views. There seems to have been no consultation plan and people feel hurt at the lack of any democratic process, remember we have to live with what is built in this area.

The LOCAL people I speak to cannot understand why the council is so fixated on DMU building on this very difficult section of land, having to remove a substantial bridge at significant cost before presenting it to the university. This same university has presented no plans on what the new leisure centre will look like or when it will be built. We don't know if/at what time it will be open to members of the public. West Enders like myself would appreciate more information from DMU - they haven¿t even officially confirmed that they will knock down the pump and tap, yet all the speculation is that it will be demolished after it is closed. This adds to the ill feeling directed at DMU.”

“While I will mourn the passing of the bridge and do feel it is a shame that such a landmark steeped in history has to be pulled down, I feel that the sums of money it would have taken to restore it could not be justified when there are so many in need. Yes the bridge should have never been allowed to get into that state and as it was a public right of way the council should have maintained it. If there had been a realistic chance for the Great Central to have re-opened through Leicester either as an extension of the preserved line, or as a re-opening of the route to mainline travel, then I would have support the campaign. But even if it was saved such structures require massive amounts of financial support to keep them maintained and again this is hard to justify for what is only a landmark and no longer serving the purpose it was design for.”

“I love your sense of irony, Ross. When I imagined the green oasis they were creating in the heart of the city, that wasn't what I had in mind.

The changes seem to have made things worse. The main road now passes only a pavement width away and not a wide pavement at that. At least when it was a mess we could hope it might soon be put right! We may have to wait a whole generation for that to happen now.”

“now, lets get rid of a pointless eyesore in the city centre & demolish the New Walk Centre.”

“"DMU and the Council have done a great job liberating the Magazine building from it's traffic island and creating a new public space into the bargain. That shows what can be done."

Just wanted to quote this for truth.”