Agency finds £500,000 to help fund crossing repairs

A FUNDING pot of £500,000 has been identified by the Environment Agency to start developing plans for the replacement of Marsh Lock footbridge.

Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo and Mayor Rory Hunt went on a boat trip on the River Thames with agents on Thursday last week to assess the state of the bridge from the water.

Councillor Hunt said they focused on some of the problems with the bridge and discussed some potential ways to move forward. The rotting bridge was closed by the Environment Agency in May 2022 following complaints about its condition.

More than 100 defects were found in the deteriorating hardwood, which would need to be replaced in its entirety. Repairs were expected to take two months but were delayed due to the agency denying responsibility for maintaining it.

Mr van Mierlo wrote to four government ministers at the start of the year, asking for help in accelerating the work, including Baroness Sue Hayman, the Minister of Access at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.

She said the Environment Agency plans to carry out surveys in the new financial year to assess the available options for the bridge, including repairs or a full replacement.

The funding is expected to be used to fund the planning of the bridge repair, which as an estimated cost of about £1.3m, which was revealed by the Henley Standard in October.

Mr van Mierlo said: “It was great to get out on to the river with the Environment Agency to view the state of the bridge from the water.

“Following the campaign of the local residents that I’ve been supporting, the agency has confirmed to me that a £500,000 funding pot has been identified to make progress.

“The funding is not enough to fully renovate the bridge but it will allow the first step to be taken, which is bringing forward a detailed design. This will take six to 12 months to complete.

“This is really welcoming news and I’m pleased that the area director and her team have recognised the importance of this bridge to the community here and more widely.

“I will, of course, continue to hold the agency’s feet to the fire on this and work constructively with all relevant stakeholders and interested parties.”

He thanked Claudia Fennell, nine, a member of 1st Henley Brownies, who started a petition campaigning for repairs. He said: “I want to thank people like nine-year-old Claudia, of Wargrave Road, everyone who supported her petition, and all the residents who’ve written to me about this.

“Your voices have made a real difference, and this shows that together, we can campaign for meaningful change.”

Claudia, who will be presenting her petition with more than 5,000 signatures to Downing Street and the House of Commons next week, said: “I’m so happy to hear that there is some progress being made on fixing the bridge.

“I hope my campaign might have helped a bit with getting the money from the Environment Agency. Freddie has been great at getting lots of meetings with the right people too and I’m looking forward to presenting my petition with him in 10 Downing Street next week.”

Cllr Hunt said he left the interaction feeling more positive and is pleased plans are being drawn up. He said: “We went out on the boat and were able to see and focus on some of the problems with the bridge and discuss some ways forward. It was also helpful to have general discussions about safety and pollution.

“I’m really pleased that the Environment Agency is starting to engage with us, and it’s really pleasing that the MP is working with them too. It’s frustrating that the work is taking so long, but I’m pleased that plans are being drawn up to repair the bridge, and I look forward to working with relevant stakeholders and people to repair it.

“I left it feeling much more positive than I did going into it. It’s also good to establish a working relationship and I’m confident that we can find a way to find a solution.”

After the bridge was closed, a short diversion through the Culden Faw estate was established. But, due to a lack of action, the estate rescinded access to its land in March last year in the hope that this would spur the Environment Agency into action.

A 2.7-mile diversion was then put in between Lower Shiplake to Mill Lane in Henley, which takes walkers one hour and 15 minutes and involves crossing the A4155 twice. In February, the town council decided to take legal action in a bid to accelerate the repair and reopening of the bridge. It agreed to serve a notice on Oxfordshire County Council which would require the highways authority to state within one month whether the bridge is considered a public highway and who is liable to maintain it.

Similarly worded letters were also sent to Philip Duffy, the chief executive of the Environment Agency, and Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Cllr Hunt said that the town was united on getting the bridge reopened as soon as possible.