Flood-hit Tadcaster Bridge to be widened during repairs

Tadcaster Bridge collapsed on 29 December due to the force of flood water

A Grade II listed bridge which was destroyed by winter flooding is to be widened, a council has agreed.

Tadcaster Bridge, which crosses the River Wharfe in North Yorkshire, collapsed on 29 December.

Currently the river can only be crossed using a temporary footbridge - splitting the town in two.

Plans to widen the 18th Century stone bridge during ongoing repair work have been approved at a special meeting of Selby District Council planners.

A fund was set up to help the scores of homes and businesses affected by the floods

Bridge-widening plans were submitted at the start of summer after it was said to have "sub-standard footway and carriageway widths".

At the planning meeting Deputy Mayor of Selby Richard Sweeting said the footpaths had "been unsafe for years, forcing prams and wheelchairs into the road".

Councillor Christopher Metcalfe said widening the bridge was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enhance a local facility", and added cyclists crossing the bridge had been "taking their life in their own hands for years".

The River Wharfe at Tadcaster can only currently be crossed via a temporary footbridge or a lengthy detour

The work will include constructing a concrete beam on the north side of the bridge, which is within the Tadcaster Conservation Area.

The wall and parapet will then be moved to meet it, meaning the footpaths can be widened to 1.8m (5ft 11in), and the road to 7.3m (23ft 11in).

Street lights will also be added on the damaged side.

The government pledged £3m for repair work within days of the bridge collapse, and £1.4m was given by the region's Local Enterprise Partnership to widen and strengthen the bridge.

Tadcaster was badly flooded following heavy rain in December 2015