Deadline set for infill removal
NATIONAL Highways (NH) has been given an October 2023 deadline to remove around 1540 tonnes of stone and 100 tonnes of concrete which it used to infill a bridge over a disused section of the Eden Valley route in Cumbria, writes Graeme
Pickering. In June, Eden District Council rejected a retrospective planning application from NH for the changes to the structure, which carries the B6259 road over the former railway alignment at Great Musgrave. The council concluded that it resulted in “considerable harm to the visual appearance of the bridge” and that NH’s claim of reducing further costs to the public purse in the long-term by carrying out the work rather than “more sympathetic repair and reinforcement” was insufficient to outweigh the harm caused. As NH decided not to appeal against the ruling, an enforcement notice became effective on October 11, giving it a period of 12 months from that date to remove the infill and return the bridge to its previous condition. If necessary, this could include cleaning and repointing of the stonework. Landscaping and vegetation must also be restored. NH’s actions were described by the Eden Valley Railway and the Stainmore Railway Company as “deeply detrimental” to their long-term plans to connect their heritage operations at the northern and southern ends of the trackbed under the bridge. It is understood that both organisations have asked NH to donate the materials that will be removed from the bridge portal to them for reuse.