St Neots foot and cycle bridge plans scrapped

It was hoped the bridge would provide "a safer, traffic-free" river crossing

A planned multimillion-pound foot and cycle bridge will not be built, after expected costs doubled to £7.4m.

Authorities had hoped the bridge in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, would offer "a safer, traffic-free crossing" over the River Great Ouse.

A budget of £3.7m had been set for the project, but a review found costs had spiralled and work will no longer go ahead.

About £800,000 had already been spent on the scheme.

The suspension bridge was to be funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and developer contributions.

According to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority documents, the county council reviewed the project and found "limited scope for value engineering or bringing the construction costs back in line to the approved budget".

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor James Palmer said the remaining funding allocated to the project had been "ring-fenced for St Neots".

"We'll be talking to individuals and groups in St Neots over the coming weeks and testing their ideas to ensure that the proposals we take forward give value and have genuine widespread support."