Reopening Preston Old Tram Bridge 'not a viable option'

The bridge was closed in February

A much-used footbridge, which closed due to fears of collapse, will not be reopened after engineers found more than 200 faults during an inspection.

The Old Tram Bridge in Preston's Avenham Park, which connected the city to South Ribble, closed in February.

Lancashire County Councillor Keith Iddon said after reading the report, it had been decided that repairing the bridge was "not a viable option".

He said he would now work on "sourcing external funding for a new bridge".

The bridge, which is owned by Preston City Council, was originally built in 1802, but was completely rebuilt in the 20th Century.

The current bridge piers, which are made of reinforced concrete, date to the 1930s, while the concrete deck dates to the 1960s.

After its closure, thousands of people signed a petition, calling for it to be restored.

Mr Iddon said it was the Lancashire council's opinion that "the main deck beams are beyond repair and repairing the bridge piers would be uneconomic".

Preston City Councillor Robert Boswell said there was an "ongoing dialogue between the two councils about the condition of the bridge and the desire to maintain a public crossing of the Ribble".

"Currently the situation remains the same - we are awaiting outcomes from surveys and work being done to better understand the options moving forward."