Llanerch Bridge replacement plan agreed but £7m needed

Plans to replace a 200-year-old, Grade-II listed bridge which was swept away in a storm earlier this year have been agreed, but £7m is still needed.

Denbighshire council's cabinet agreed in principle to replace Llanerch Bridge over the River Clwyd, between Trefnant and Tremeirchion.

Drivers have faced a 7-mile (11km) diversion since the bridge was swept away during Storm Christoph in January.

The Welsh government said it would consider a request when it got one.

In a public consultation which was opened in September, 95% of 750 respondents called for the bridge to be replaced immediately, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

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About 1,600 people used the bridge every day before it was swept away.

But replacing it is expected to cost between £6m and £7m and the council said it had no funding allocated for the capital scheme.

Llanerch Bridge collapsed into the River Clwyd in January 2021

Tim Towers, the council's highways risk and asset manager, said: "This is obviously a significant capital commitment for the council and it is considered that approaches should be made to seek external funding, particularly to Welsh government."

Councillor Christine Marston said the social and economic impact on the communities in the area had been "devastating".

The Welsh government said: "We will consider the local authority's request for funding for this project when it is received."