Bridge decision delayed

A decision over whether to build a new bridge in Worcester has been pushed back by months putting millions of pounds of funding in jeopardy.

Worcestershire County Council’s planning committee narrowly voted to defer a final decision on proposals to build a new multi-million-pound bridge between Worcester’s Gheluvelt Park and the old Kepax landfill site across the River Severn in Worcester over fears it would not join up properly with walking and cycling routes around the county.

Andy Maginnis from the county council said he had “grave concerns” that millions of pounds in government funding could be lost if the planning committee did not approve the new bridge on Tuesday (July 6).

“Rather like the Southern Link Road, you can’t build everything in one day and deal with everything in one planning application. Such an opportunity simply does not exist,” he said.

“The current funding that we have available may not be there in a year or two years if we defer. This is the time to carry out the work if we wish to do it.

“Believe me, with my experience of infrastructure, the key thing to do is get the big-ticket items in place while you have the opportunity and that provides the catalyst for attracting funding to carry out the balance of the work.”

Other council officers warned reconfiguring the plans could take up to a year to complete.

Cllr Peter Griffiths said the new bridge would just be “one piece of the puzzle” and queried whether the city had enough paths and cycling routes to support the “ambitious” proposals.

“As far as I can see it doesn’t seem to me that there is much emphasis on the whole picture,” he said. “What does this add to the active travel network? I’d like to be more convinced that this bridge is contributing to the network, particularly east-west across Worcester.

“Have we got the infrastructure to support an ambitious project like this?”

Cllr Griffiths said he sympathised with some of the objectors to the west of Worcester as the bridge could seem “a bit meaningless” to them.

“It’s important that if we have a key piece of active travel infrastructure here then we should be looking at the wider implications and mapping them out and signing them so that people will use it,” he added.

The cost of the bridge alone is set to be around £5.8 million with £4 million coming from Worcestershire County Council, £820,000 from Worcester City Council and £1 million from the government’s Getting Building Fund money allocated to the county.

The latest planning papers said the bridge would be operational by spring 2023 but the delay in making a decision could push the work back by months and even years.

Cllr Richard Udall said he had a number of concerns about the bridge and believed the application was “premature.”

“We would not give permission for a highway bridge if we did not know where the roads were going to go,” he said. “That should be the same for a walking and cycling bridge.

“I understand the need to get this done as quickly as possible for funding reasons but that should not curtail us as a planning authority into determining something in advance of our ability ant willingness to be ready to determine it.

“What is important is the ability to get this application right.”

Cllr Kit Taylor said he feared the council would be building a “bridge to nowhere” if it was not connected properly to walking and cycling routes.

“We’re going to have half a million movements on this bridge, give or take,” he said. “Where are they coming from and where are they going?”

The new bridge would be just under a mile from the city’s Sabrina Bridge and around two miles from Diglis Bridge – the success of which both councils are hoping to emulate.

The county council’s planning committee next meets on September 28.