Oxford's new bridge 'to cost more than planned £6m'

How the new bridge could look, crossing the River Thames and running to Oxford Ice Rink

The cost of a proposed bridge over the River Thames is likely to exceed the £6m that was originally anticipated.

The Oxpens River Bridge in Oxford will be for pedestrians and cyclists and connect Oxpens and Osney Mead. Building could start next year.

Both areas will undergo transformative work in coming years which is set to bring thousands of jobs and new homes to the city.

Oxford City Council said it was working to "refine" the bridge proposals.

The authority is currently running a consultation over what people want from the new bridge which it said it wanted to build in 2020.

The city council and Nuffield College plan to redevelop Oxpens, while Oxford University plans to regenerate Osney Mead.

A spokesperson at the authority said it was "refining the details of the bridge and cost estimates".

Money for the new bridge will be taken from the Oxfordshire Growth Deal. That was agreed in 2017 and allocated £150m for infrastructure projects across the county.

"Given the inflationary pressures facing all construction projects, we anticipate that the costs for the bridge is likely to have increased since the funding level was identified based on reports undertaken in 2017," the spokesperson said.

"As we have done more detailed technical work some elements assumed when the funding was allocated have had to change. For example, we have needed to increase the length of the ramps to avoid areas that flood.

"We will not know the final cost of the bridge until we go to market to appoint a contractor. We are working with our technical team to refine the proposals and minimise the cost where possible as well as exploring other sources of funding."