Bridge repairs planned after 500-day closure

The bridge in Colchester's Castle Park has been closed since December 2023

Work to repair a collapsed footbridge will start more than a year after it was closed to the public.

Part of the Middle Mill weir at Castle Park in Colchester fell into the River Colne on 10 December 2023 and the footbridge has been closed ever since.

In a joint statement, Colchester City Council and Essex County Council said work to stabilise the bridge and remove the collapsed structure was expected to start "in late spring and continue into the summer".

Alan Garnett, head teacher at the nearby North Primary School and Nursery, said his pupils had been unable to enjoy their usual route.

This coming Wednesday will mark 500 days since the footbridge was closed off.

"We are a proud city and this is a gateway to an award-winning park," said Mr Garnett.

"Get it fixed, not just for the residents and children of Colchester but the thousands of tourists coming to Colchester in the coming months."

Pupils at North Primary School and Nursery, where Alan Garnett is their head teacher, have been impacted by the closure of the bridge

Mr Garnett said he was proud of his pupils for campaigning for the bridge to reopen, including a girl in Year 6 who wrote to her MP.

The Grade II listed park is usually a short walk from the city centre, but a diversion of about 1km (0.6 miles) is in place.

The city and county councils said they understood "the frustration felt by residents over the time it has taken" to progress the repairs.

Work could commence because a permit had been issued by the Environment Agency, a spokesperson said.

They added: "The delay up to this point has largely been due to essential changes to the project design, following further site investigations which revealed more extensive scour beneath the bridge than originally anticipated."

It is believed the weir has stood at the site for more than 900 years.

The weir itself is the responsibility of the city council, while the county council is responsible for the bridge.