New design unveiled for bridge destroyed by Storm Desmond

The latest design for the new Pooley Bridge has been unveiled at a public meeting in the village last night.

Developers, Knight Architects, and members of Cumbria County Council explained how they came to a final design and how the project would move forward.

The original bridge collapsed during Storm Desmond in December 2015 and a temporary one opened in March last year.

The new draft design attempts to reflect feedback from a recent public meeting on three different bridge designs.

Many residents held varying strong views over the designs, so the architect's focused on common themes to work on.

These included light and transparency, blending in with the area, elegance, flood resilience, balance between modern and traditional, and open views.

The new draft design sits lower than previous ideas, but maintains the increase height above the river.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Fleet said:

The new draft will now be subject to further changes based on feedback from the local community.

It is expected that it will take around 38 weeks for the bridge to be constructed.

During this time there will be no bridge across the river.

Councillor Keith Little added: