Villagers turned out in force yesterday (Sunday) to celebrate the opening of the newly-built replacement to the beloved Redberth Bridge, a symbol of community spirit and determination. It was truly heartwarming to see so many from the village come together to mark the renewal of this much-loved local landmark – first built 62 years ago by Spark. The bridge had no formal ownership, but when it became damaged, Carew Community Council stepped up to take on responsibility for its repair. From there, the village rallied, determined that the bridge must be saved. It really was a community project from start to finish. Sally Lord and Simon Hosker-Hicks explored the options, with Sally securing a reduced rate from Pencoed Sawmill in Lawrenny and Simon arranging materials free of charge from Trubloc. Carew CC kindly agreed to fund the timber and screws. Thanks go to Matthew, Sally and Sam for taking the bridge down, and to all the bridge builders and helpers Sally, Kerry, James, John, Nico, Guto, and Iolo - and especially to David Hughes for his expert advice. Meanwhile, Gaynor, Bron, Margery, Janet and Nerys kept everyone going with food and drink, and Barry, strimmed the riverbanks to make sure it was looking at its best for the grand opening. Before the ribbon was cut, Rev’d Martin Cox, on behalf of Rev’d Hannah, kindly blessed the bridge. Then, in a very special moment, the ribbon was cut by the oldest and youngest members of the village, Tom James (97) and Penelope (3). “This bridge is more than just wood and screws – it’s a symbol of what we can achieve when we come together as a community,” said Simon.
00:00This is obviously common land that we're stood on. So it became a problem when this bridge that used to be here before, no one really knew who owned it.
00:11So Pembrokeshire Council didn't own it and nor did Kerou Community Council.
00:16So recently Kerou Community Council took on the running of the bridge and the maintenance of the bridge and we thought it was all fine.
00:25I jumped up and down on it a few times to check if it was okay and it was all fine and then shortly after that the bridge actually broke.
00:33So we came down, we did a quick repair on it. Then we sort of thought right what are we going to do?
00:40Me and Sally one day we stood down here and we said oh we've got to save this bridge.
00:44So we've got everyone involved and we've got everyone to come down and to kind of see what we wanted to do, did we want to save it or take it down.
00:54Everyone agreed that we should definitely save the bridge. Lots of stories came out about other kids that are now up here that when they were little they would play underneath the bridge and things like that.
01:04So that was our plan was to save the bridge. Got everyone together, we decided that we were going to build a new bridge because the old bridge was pretty old and rickety.
01:16So Sally then got hold of a good friend of hers and got the wood locally from Sawmill in Loretty.
01:26I got hold of some blocks which were underneath from True Block. I talked to my good friend David into giving us some advice on what we could do to build the bridge.
01:38I was hoping to build the bridge which sadly became as the main builder of the bridge last weekend.
01:44She was really impressed with making the rope with him in there.
01:48So thank you for that. I think we should give you a round of applause for Sally.
01:52We had a whip round so this is all...
02:00And then we thought about we'll have a grand opening which is what we're all at today.
02:12So we thought right what could we do? So I thought if we got the youngest person who's Penelope here, she's our youngest resident.
02:20And we also got Tom who's our eldest resident, who's 18 today. And we thought they could cut our ribbon and then our bridge will be saved for years to come.
02:32So we'll hand you over to Martin who's going to do us a little thing, a little blessing.
02:40On behalf of Hannah who's our picker of the village who can't be here because we're too big.
02:46I'm here instead of Hannah who is unable to be here because she's done well.
02:51I'm going to bless the bridge and then if I suddenly disappear it's because I've got to be in care of for 11 o'clock.
02:57Okay, I'm under orders really. I'm under orders.
03:01But it's great privilege to be here this afternoon, this morning, and to be part and parcel of this grand opening.
03:08You won't forget this. This is part of the village history.
03:12So I hope you have great pleasure in using this bridge on this common land as people living in this village. Let us pray.
03:23Heavenly Father, we thank you for those in this community of Redbird who have built and renewed this footbridge.
03:31May those who use this bridge be reminded of the gifts and talents of others.
03:37May all who use this bridge be safe.
03:41Bless this footbridge. May it be a walkway of refreshment, recreation, and a reminder of the beauty that surrounds us here, and for all who live here.
03:54May your people continue to live in peace and happiness all their days.
04:00We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and our Saviour. Amen.
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