The Pier Street pedestrian footbridge, as captured by the excellent Snapper76 and posted on Panoramio.

I’m not noted for agreeing with the council here on the Brownhills Blog, and have never held back in criticising them. However, I like to think that when I feel they’ve got it right, it’s appropriate and correct to point it out.

To this end, both I and local author, resident, community activist and full time Clayhanger Kid Brian Stringer would like to thank Walsall Council’s Streetpride department, particularly Kate Goodall, for sorting out the cleaning of the Pier Street Pedestrian Bridge.

Regulars will remember that Brian brought to my attention the state of the bridge a couple of weeks ago, which was suffering with encroaching moss, detritus and slime. Brian and the crew behind the Canal Festival were hoping the bridge could be cleaned in time for the Brownhills Canal Festival, and felt they were probably going to have to undertake the job themselves. We had both mistakenly believed the bridge to be the responsibility of the Canal & River Trust (formerly British Waterways), and we called on them to clean it up – my apologies to the CRT for that. They came out and explained that the bridge was Walsall’s responsibility.

Following this, both myself and Brian contacted the council. Kate, as ever, was particularly helpful, and it’s nice to see that a crew was sent out this week to clean the bridge steps and deck, which is appreciated.

Kate is always ready to help, and also a rather fine writer, who particularly loves the parks of the borough. She was behind the excellent Bandstand Marathon in the Arboretum last year, which was a rather fine day out.

Thanks to all concerned. Small things make lots of difference. Cheers.