Delighted members of the Reopen the Black Bridge Steering Group met at the centre of Lydbrook Bridge to celebrate its reopening on Saturday, September 29th.

Lydbrook Bridge, known locally as Stowfield Viaduct or the Black Bridge, was built in 1875 to take the railway across the River Wye. The rail line was closed in 1964 and the bridge deck was refurbished to form a walkway.

This pedestrian walkway, which serves both local people and leisure travellers on the Wye Valley Walk, was closed in 2016 due to safety concerns. The walkway links the Counties of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire and a Steering Group of citizens from both counties was formed in a united front to campaign for the reopening of the Bridge.

In February an application was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a scheme that would allow the structure to be repaired to secure its long term future. However, in July notification was received that the bid was unsuccessful.

The poor condition of the bridge meant that safety work began in June to ensure river traffic and walkers continued to be safe when passing underneath.

Good access to the bridge structure during the safety work allowed a further opportunity to take stock of the bridge’s condition. As a result, engineers were able to devise a safe, workable, short-term solution to get the bridge re-opened. The best long term solution to restore the river crossing needs to be found; this will be dependent on the level of funding that can be secured and when it becomes available.

Councillor Paul Newman, who represented Herefordshire on the Steering Group, is delighted with the reopening of the bridge. He said: “Thank goodness common sense has prevailed and a solution found which we believe will endure for at least the next 20 years.

“It would have been fantastic to have found enough funding for a very long term solution, but we now have many years to work for more funding and in the meantime local people and walkers will be able to use this vital pedestrian walkway over the river.”

Councillor Barry Durkin, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for Transport and Regulatory Services, said: “Obviously the news regarding the Heritage Lottery Fund bid was disappointing, but because of our proactive partnership work I’m sure people from both sides of the river are delighted to see the bridge accessible on foot once again.”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.