Bridge repairs £44k scaffold bill as work delayed
THE city council has spent more than £40,000 on scaffolding to hold up a bridge that has been waiting to be repaired for nearly five years.
The Kingsweston footbridge in north Bristol has been closed since it was struck by a lorry in November 2015.
It is much missed by dog walkers, families, school children and ramblers who used to use it to avoid crossing a busy road between Blaise and Kings Weston estates.
Plans to raise and restore the grade II-listed iron bridge were finally released in March last year after residents campaigned for its reopening.
But Bristol City Council has been unable to reach an agreement with Historic England over the £1.5 million plans, so the bridge remains closed and surrounded by scaffolding.
Now it has emerged that, as time ticks on, the council is paying £300 to £375 per month to the local company which supplies the scaffolding.
The total paid to Ashton Scaffolding so far is £44,000, the council has revealed.
Answering questions submitted under the Freedom of Information
Act, the council told resident Richard Ganniclifft last month that the cost of the scaffolding amounted to “£44k to date with an ongoing scaffold cost between £300 - £375 per month depending on number of weeks per month”.
“The repairs are dependent on planning approval,” the response continued.
“There is currently no allocated funding or timeframes of commitment to raise and reopen this bridge.”
The local authority’s plans for the bridge include raising it by just over a metre to prevent further strikes by lorries and installing ramps at either end for wheelchair users.
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said the council was still waiting for Historic England to agree on the changes.
Speaking during one of his regular Facebook Live Q&A sessions on Wednesday, Mr Rees said: “The bridge has been hit twice ... since that initial damage.
“So we know that we actually need to raise the height of the bridge, and to do that we need Heritage England [sic] to agree on the increase and on the work that’s needed to happen around the bridge to do that.
“And as yet, we haven’t been able to reach agreement. As the structure is listed ... they can object to any substantial changes.
“We have to make the bridge, and we want to make the bridge, accessible under the Equalities Act.
“So if we raise the bridge we need to install ramps [at] either end and Heritage England are yet to agree on the installation of the ramps. There’s also a £1.5million cost to this.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Historic England for comment.
If we raise the bridge we need to install ramps [at] either end and Heritage England [sic] are yet to agree
Mayor Marvin Rees