River Avon walls in Bristol in 'critical structural condition'

Two river walls next to Gaol Ferry Bridge (pictured) will be given priority along with Langton Street Bridge and one near Bedminster Bridge

Walls along the River Avon are at risk of collapse, causing flooding and major traffic disruption, surveyors said.

Bristol City Council is planning to spend £12m to stabilise the walls along the Avon New Cut as part of a massive repair project.

A survey of the walls along the city's floating harbour and the New Cut in 2019 and 2020 found over a quarter of the "river wall assets" in critical or serious structural condition.

Repairs are set to take five years.

Labour Councillor Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, warned parts of the river walls could collapse unless urgent action was taken.

Writing in the mayor's blog, he claimed that the current administration, first elected in 2016, had inherited "crumbling infrastructure".

"Failure of just 11 of these assets could lead to severe consequences, including loss of life, flooding, property damage, and major disruption to traffic across the city.

"Now is the time to start work on stabilisation measures to mitigate this risk and secure their long-term future for all the communities they support," he added.

He said decisions over the short-term construction works can prove unpopular due to the disruption to residents' lives.

Part of the embankment of the Chocolate Path collapsed into the River Avon in 2020

Recent repair works to the Gaol Ferry Bridge and the Chocolate Path received criticism for running well over schedule, while no workers could be seen for days on end, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Services (LDRS).

Reasons for the long delays included contractors not having foreseen how high the tide would be.

More details of the works, as well as the traffic disruption, are expected to be published in a cabinet report this week with a meeting on 6 February to discuss the plans and sign off spending the £12m.

Four river wall structures will be given priority including the Langton Street Bridge, two next to the Gaol Ferry Bridge and one near Bedminster Bridge.

Four more river wall sites will see further investigation, ecological assessments and vegetation clearance, next to Paynes Shipyard, Camden Road, Gaol Ferry ramp and the Feeder Road jetty.

Part of the Chocolate Path will be closed while the Underfall Sluice footbridge is repaired, which forms part of the Avon flood defences. A diversion would be put in place via the Harbour Railway.

Mr Alexander said the work is about investing in Bristol's future and comes on top of the rolling £16m programme to restore six key New Cut bridges and an investment of around £3m into the sluice infrastructure, which protects the Harbourside and surrounding areas from flooding.