Boxted: Villagers in bid to save bridge from demolition

Residents want the bridge to be repaired and not replaced

Villagers are campaigning to save an "important and well-loved" bridge from demolition.

Essex County Council wants to replace Boxted Bridge with a new structure similar in appearance but built to modern standards.

But residents said the existing bridge, which was built in 1897, should be repaired rather than replaced.

"The bridge survived two world wars and people are really attached to it," campaigner Lucinda De Jasay said.

"Old people in the village remember coming here as children.

"It's a focal point and Boxted doesn't have much left - the pubs have gone, the shops have gone but the bridge is still here."

A petition to save Boxted Bridge in Essex has more than 6,000 signatures

After an inspection in 2018, Essex County Council said the bridge needed to be replaced as it was in a weak position with potentially dangerous flaws.

Dan Cruikshank, who specialises in architectural history, said: "All historic structures are worth protecting.

"There has to be a very good reason to remove them.

"No-one is actually arguing it's bound to collapse but it just needs to be repaired, like any old structure needs to be repaired and maintained on a regular basis."

The council's planning application said repairs to the bridge would be complicated, costly and were not a viable option.