Dear Lairds & Ladies,

If you have been following my updates on the kerfuffle at the bridge you'll know my last update was in early May. At that point I predicted we were at an inflection where either the author of this kerfuffle would throw the towel in or change methods:

"... this seems to be an inflection point, and one which will result in either more ill-considered action (static caravan?) or a pause to reconsider. I heartily hope for the latter."

It transpires he has decided to go all in. No, I am not talking about a static caravan – he's decided with his legal representatives to leverage his court action and move from interdict to a "declaratory" concerning "...the specific layout of the boundary...". In other words he wants the court to declare that the boundary is as he has laid out several times in red spray paint on the drive letting onto the bridge. 

For summaries of how this has all developed, please view my videos here and here, along with my later updates here and here.

The reason for this change in the court action? I think his strategy is two-fold: (1) to be able to tell the planning authority he has exclusive ownership of the corner and that part of the turn in to the bridge is his "garden", and therefore that he has every right to build a wall / fence, and (2) to gain a "win" and feel he has value for the tens of thousands of pounds he has spent pursuing us.

So, this has implications. First, we have argue in court that this is, "... a straightforward interdict action and the issue for the court was whether interdict should be granted or not." and then that this is "... an attempt to hijack the current process and to divert attention to a new issue." However, we have had to concede that "... until the proposed amendment [is] before the court [we] would not be able to properly address the Sheriff on the extent to which the proposed amendment should be allowed or refused." As David our solicitor says, "It is only when the case calls for consideration on whether the amendment should be allowed or not that the Sheriff will include or exclude the new material."

"The [author of the kerfuffle and his representatives] were therefore allowed 28 days to amend and [we were] allowed 28 days to answer  there will be a 2 week period thereafter for adjustment of the minute of amendment and answers and the case will call again in court on 13 August."

So where does this leave us? First, we are confident the court will prevent any damage to the bridge, but we do need to make a strong case and that will take time and incur significant fees. Second, while we have been able to fold these legal costs into the overall running of the project over the last 4 years, we are beginning to be unable to do so given that the total is now running into a five-figure sum.

Over the last months we have been really helped by the moral support that Lairds and Ladies have shown us during the Kerfuffle, and until now have not thought we should or could ask for help with this matter directly. With this change of direction by the opposition we now have no choice but to make that request.

So, rather than ask for direct contributions we have created a series of items which can be purchased directly and which will be ear-marked for the legal campaign. I've created the artwork over the last few days having received David's email, and wanted to create something that folks might want to display as a certificate, or on a t-shirt, or as a piece of wall art. Each one will be personalised with your name, or a name of your choosing! I hope you like them!

If you decide you would like to help, please visit our Defenders of the Bridge page and purchase one or more of the personalised artworks there ...  If you purchase multiples of a single artwork you can leave several names, or only one - in the case of the latter we'll send out a single item. We've included a download as well if you'd prefer to have an electronic version all to yourself!

In this way we hope to reach a target of £20,000 by the 13th August when the case is called again. This should cover the expenses we have in view, but if it transpires that we have any surplus once the case is won, we will use those monies to help fund the proposed restoration of the Great Arch of the bridge next spring.

So, please, if you are invested in our project, you love your title, and want to see us continue our important work of protecting our very own piece of historic Scottish Heritage, become a defender of our wonderful, beautiful, historic, A-listed, Telford-designed Bridge.

We hope you enjoy becoming a Defender of the Bridge.