Council vow to put bridge on the map

THE future of an historic Wye Valley footbridge which is used by 20,000 walkers a year will be secured by April 2023, council chiefs have pledged.

Forest of Dean residents had feared that the delays to fix a bureaucratic blunder could lead to the loss of the Black Bridge which connects Lower Lydbrook to Welsh Bicknor in Herefordshire.

The Gloucestershire half of the former railway bridge was never registered as a public right of way.

This oversight came to light when Gloucestershire County Council agreed to temporary repairs to reopen the bridge after a lottery grant bid for more permanent repairs was rejected in 2018.

The bridge forms part of the 136-mile Wye Valley Way and is used every year by more than 20,000 walkers.

But Gloucestershire County Council did not register it on the definitive map after the footpath was established in 1981.

Forest of Dean traffic manager Philip Cameron said: “We aim to get the route formally recorded on the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way this financial year.”