21 May 2013

The Costain team working on the new Walton Bridge Crossing has helped to raise £3,200 for the Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets after the team delivered the Rotary Club of Shepperton Aurora’s Annual Prestige Lecture in Shepperton, south west London, recently.

The event took place at Halliford School and was titled “From Canaletto to Costain” – after Canaletto’s depiction of the first bridge which he painted in 1754. The team, which included Community Relations Manager, Luke Richardson, and Project Manager, Andy Bannister, gave the 320-strong audience an evening of local history, poetry and an insight into how bridges are constructed.

Nick Pollard, the President of the Sunbury and Walton local historical society, opened the lecture with a historic review of the five bridges that have previously occupied the site. The factual parts of the lecture were interspersed with poetry written especially for the evening and recited by Joseph Butler, a published poet and blacksmith who lives and works in Oxford.  His four poems captured the social and historical importance of the bridge to the local community. 

All proceeds from the evening went to the sea cadets based at TS Black Swan on Penny Lane, Shepperton, after they were named as the Rotary Club’s chosen charity.

The money raised from the event will go towards building modular jetties that allow boats to get on and off the water a lot quicker, as well as improving the toilet and shower facilities.

Gail Cramp, Chairman of the Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets, said: “Costain’s support has meant an enormous amount to us. To have a team of people working together on our behalf is enormously uplifting and we have been totally overwhelmed by the kindness and support. We try hard to turn out young people with life advantages and community spirit that they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to gain. Like Costain, we try to give back to the community.”

The new £32 million Walton Bridge, linking Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, is the first new road bridge to span the River Thames in 20 years and will replace two temporary bridges that have been in use since 1953 and 1999. Around 34,000 cars use the current road crossings each weekday. The new bridge will be wider than the other crossings in order to allow for increased traffic flow.

 

Ends