WALNEY Island needs a second bridge to cope with growing numbers of residents and cars, a meeting has heard.

Councillors have admitted funding could be hard to find but plan to push the idea up the county’s transport agenda.

A combination of more cars and a new 60-home development on Walney meant traffic on Jubilee Bridge would only get worse, they warned.

The calls were made at a meeting at the Nan Tait Centre of Barrow’s Local Committee, a cross-party committee of county councillors.

Chairman Cllr Kevin Hamilton (Lab, Risedale) told the meeting: “Let’s not forget that this local committee has tried before to get a second bridge and the traffic problem is not going to get easier. We know they are building 60 new houses on Walney. We definitely need a second bridge. It’s up to this committee to start pushing it up the council programme.”

Cllr Hamilton said the crossing would link Mill Lane with Channelside. He accepted Government funding was likely to be rare, but said the committee needed to push the idea.

Frank Cassidy (Lab, Walney South) endorsed his comments. He told the meeting: “The people of Barrow and Walney deserve a second bridge. That kind of big ticket project has to be one of our ultimate goals. The number of people that now live on Walney as opposed to just 10 years ago has increased, as has the volume of traffic.”

Cllr Hamilton said the committee had secured £4 million worth of improvements to the 110-year-old Jubilee Bridge when the county council’s budget for bridges countywide was just £1 million. He thanked residents and the contractors for “enduring” phase one of the works on Jubilee Bridge and said phase two would happen in April.

Walney-based councillor Anne Burns (Lab, Hindpool) said: “As somebody who travels across that bridge two to three times a day, it was better when there was no traffic lights. It flowed better. I am dreading the fact they are going to put lights on the other end.”

Mel Worth (Lab, Walney North) said a crossing – for pedestrians and cyclists - was already in the county council’s capital programme.

Cllr Worth said: “Traffic coming north on Bridge Road to the roundabout at Jubilee Bridge can’t get onto the roundabout because of traffic coming from town turning right onto the bridge. I was opposed to traffic lights there when they were first raised but now that we’ve got the widening of North Road the only option is to have traffic lights on that side of the bridge. Having them on that side also improves crossings for pedestrians.”