Footbridge Closures continue

Published: 06 June 2025

Presently the closure orders are due to expire 8th July 2025 having already been extended twice. The county council would like to ask the council for its views on the proposed extensions and any comments it might have about their impact on the local economy?

 “I have recently had a meeting with WSP bridge Engineers who have conducted surveys at Newhouse, Talycoed and Sunnybank and provided us with reports. In short they have confirmed to us that the bridges are not safe to use and that closure notices should remain in place for the public’s safety. Moving forward we intend to remove the 3 structures to prevent the public from trying to use these crossing points therefore reducing the council's public liability. We have also taken the decision not to proceed with a new bridge at Sunnybank at this point in time but will monitor the situation and if there is seen to be a real demand for its reinstating we will investigate the matter further. With regards to Newhouse and Talycoed these are 2 bridges we would like to reinstate. WSP’s report outlined that it was evident that the structures were located in a floodplain, and were subject to regular flood events which caused substantial damages including damage to supports due to scour and erosion of the watercourse channels. We discussed the cost and practicality of repairing the river channels versus relocating the structures, noting that repairing the channels would be expensive and complex. It was agreed that investing in a geomorphological assessment would provide valuable information for future planning and decision-making regarding these two structures. We have requested a quote from WSP to carry out the assessment, it is hoped that on receipt of the assessment we will be in a much better position to make a decision on the next phase. To conclude, closures will remain in place with ongoing assessments, if in the event that this could take some time to do we will invest resources into looking at alternative routes.”