THE MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Liz Saville Roberts, has requested a meeting with nuclear decommissioning organisations to discuss the future of a footbridge which serves as an important community link in a Gwynedd village.

Popular with fishermen, walkers, and schoolchildren, the Llyn Trawsfynydd footbridge was opened almost 100 years ago when the lake was extended to serve the Maentwrog hydro power station.

It was built to help children safely walk to school in the village of Trawsfynydd and to gain access to a chapel.

READ MORE:

Top 10 Gwynedd roads with most parking tickets in 12 months

This week in court in Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey

The quarter-of-a-mile-long footbridge, which is maintained by the Nuclear Restoration Service (NRS - formerly called Magnox) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), has been closed to the public since 2022 after serious concerns were raised about its safety.

Mrs Saville Roberts said the closure of the footbridge has had a significant impact on the community, cutting off a safe walking route for schoolchildren, and denying its use as a popular recreational asset.

She said: “The village of Trawsfynydd is strongly of the view that the loss of the bridge is having a detrimental effect.

“At present, some children must walk to school along a stretch of the busy A470 trunk road.

“I would propose that the loss of footpaths to the artificial reservoir necessitates the replacement of this bridge as a matter of respecting the original recognition of an obligation to maintain rights of way.

“In addition, both nuclear agencies’ socio-economic obligations state that ‘decommissioning activities should benefit local communities and that it must provide a positive legacy once its work is completed.

“Failure to return the footbridge to public use would leave an irrevocable negative legacy for the community of Trawsfynydd in terms of access, the local economy, and health and well-being considerations.

“I would therefore welcome the opportunity to meet with both the NRS and NDA to discuss how sufficient public funds can be found for repairs now to celebrate the footbridge’s centenary, and how to ensure its future upkeep.”

A spokesperson on behalf of NRS said: “Trawsfynydd footbridge was subject to annual maintenance inspections and repairs right up August 2022 when it closed due to concerns over public safety, our number one priority.

"The bridge was determined to be no longer structurally safe or viable for restoration due to the scale of deterioration found.

“Since its closure,  NRS and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have been working with the local community to try and seek a solution that takes into account the best use of taxpayer’s money.”