Approval given to progress scheme to widen Tadcaster Bridge
Bridge to be widened as part of ongoing reconstruction works.
Tadcaster
Approval to progress a scheme to widen and strengthen Tadcaster Bridge has been given by North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive to help support the economic growth of the town.
The work would see the footpaths on the bridge widened from under one metre in places to two metres and would increase the number of street lights from one to six. It would also strengthen the bridge to enable it to cope with higher river levels.
The plans to widen and strengthen the bridge are subject to planning permission. The County Council is engaging with Historic England and the local planning authority to secure the necessary permissions to allow the works.
It has been a long-standing aspiration of the County Council and the community to improve the bridge to create better connections between the two sides of the town, which are separated by the River Wharfe.
The 18th century grade two listed bridge is currently under repair following its partial collapse due to the force of flood water following heavy rains over Christmas. Reconstruction of the bridge is being funded by £3m from the government.
At its meeting on Tuesday, 26 July, the Executive agreed to develop a proposal for widening and strengthening the bridge and accepted a grant of £1.4m from the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) via the Local Growth Fund, which would fund this additional work.
County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Highways, said: “It has always been our ambition to improve Tadcaster Bridge as we rebuild it. This funding will support the strengthening of the bridge to offer greater protection from future flooding, as well as widening the bridge to provide the better pedestrian access that people have asked for. The bridge is essential to the prosperity of the town and this project, with the grant support from the LEP, will be a major benefit.
County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, who is the local member for Tadcaster and a member of the LEP board, added: “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to widen the bridge and provide wider footpaths that will allow people to cross safely and it will deliver the aspiration people in Tadcaster have had for decades for a safer river crossing. It will also give the town a great based from which it can grow.”