Bomb damage preserved as part of footbridge repairs

Preserving bomb damage and bullet holes on a footbridge “won’t impact the timeline” of lengthy repairs to a footbridge according to the city council.

Vauxhall Bridge, which connects Spike Island with Southville over the River Avon New Cut in Bristol, will be closed until 2027.

The bridge was built around 1900, and was damaged by bombing during World War Two.

Bristol City Council is painstakingly repairing the Grade-II listed structure, but said the war damage being preserved was “superficial” and not the reason the repairs will take years to finish.

Last week one councillor claimed that Historic England “insisted the bomb damage be kept”, but the government advisory body denied this and said they had never “suggested World War Two damage be retained”.

Now it appears that decision was actually taken by the council according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Ed Plowden, chair of the transport policy committee, said: “We are grateful to Historic England for their help and advice throughout this project.

"Generally, it is best conservation practice to retain as many original features as possible, but Historic England understands and supports our plan to replace large sections of the bridge and to address historic deficiencies in its design, as it is in such a poor state of repair.

“Historic England has also welcomed our plans to preserve the bomb damage to Vauxhall Bridge, caused in the Second World War, including bullet holes.

"Luckily, as the damage is superficial and not on the main structure, we can preserve it without it impacting the timeline.”

The repairs are expected to take three years to complete, longer than the two years initially estimated.

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