Wildlife trust prepares to remove unsafe bridge

The bridge, known as the Works Bridge, had to close due to safety issues

A wildlife trust is preparing to remove an unsafe footbridge at a nature reserve ahead of a replacement being installed.

The Works Bridge at Attenborough Nature Reserve, near Beeston in Nottinghamshire, closed to the public in April 2023 after a safety inspection.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said it would soon submit plans for a replacement to Broxtowe Borough Council, with the entire project expected to cost £375,000.

Work is under way to create an access route needed to remove the old bridge and install its replacement, pending approval.

The trust said bridge construction firm Beaver Bridges would be making the new structure

In March, the trust said flooding and the discovery of high voltage cables close to the planned route had delayed its bid for planning consent.

In an update in July, the trust said an application would soon be submitted to the borough council, and that feedback from the planning authority had been "positive and constructive".

It added the bridge's technical design work was also under way.

The Works Bridge - which forms part of an existing bridleway - was closed before the trust purchased the reserve in 2020.

It was reopened as a footpath only, as it could not be repaired to a standard required for a bridleway.

But in 2023 another safety inspection of the bridge identified it was no longer safe for anybody to use, and it was closed once more.

Erin McDaid, head of communications at the trust, previously said the "contentious" closure had "been a real source of frustration".