£1 million Bristol footbridge repairs to finally start in 2024

Work to repair a broken footbridge in Bristol has finally been given planning permission, but construction won’t start until almost a decade after it closed.

Kingsweston Iron Bridge was shut by Bristol City Council in 2015, after a lorry crashed into it. In 2018, a second lorry also collided with the bridge, causing further damage.

The bridge will be dismantled, repaired and installed at a raised height to avoid being hit by yet another lorry, as part of the council’s £1 million restoration plan.

New steps must be added to the heightened bridge structure, which means it won’t be wheelchair accessible.

Without the bridge, walkers have been cut off from the Kings Weston Estate and Blaise Castle Estate in northwest Bristol.

Progress in the development was welcomed by residents at a council meeting on December 21, where they said they felt “neglected” after repeated protests to get it reopened.

Local resident Janet Poole said people in the area felt "forgotten" after years of trying to get the bridge fixed.

She said: "People in Bristol are tired of waiting for this much-loved bridge to be repaired and reopened. We understand that the plans aren't perfect, but at this stage of the game we just want the bridge repaired.

"We feel neglected, we feel forgotten and we just do not know what else to do."

Even though planning permission has now been granted for the works, construction isn’t due to start until 2024, according to Bristol’s Mayor Marvin Rees.

He said repairing the bridge is a “passion project for local people” and the council had other priorities.

He added: “It is not a key infrastructure project for Bristol and I would hope councillors would be honest about prioritising in a time of financial pressures.

"It is expected work will start in the financial year 2023–24 as resources allow, with construction works commencing in 2024.”

Bristol City Council cabinet member for transport Don Alexander said: "Any negative impact on this much-loved asset will be far outweighed by the fact that it will be permanently raised and safe from any further bridge strikes."

Credit: LDRS Reporter Alex Seabrook