Rushcliffe Borough Council will recommend in principle, plans for a fourth bridge over the River Trent for cyclists and pedestrians at a Growth and Development Scrutiny Group meeting next week.
Documents released ahead of the meeting on 14 July include a report which provides information on work being undertaken by Nottingham City Council on proposals for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Trent which will be the subject of a consultation exercise in Autumn 2021.
A presentation will be made at the meeting by Nottingham City Council looking at proposals for the crossing idea.
The City Council has identified three potential locations for the bridge, all generally to the east of Lady Bay Bridge.
The most westerly location would span the river from the northern bank, close to Poulton Drive with other potential locations identified at Trent Basin and Trent Lane.
All three options would land on the southern side of the river in the vicinity of the sports pitches at Lady Bay.
Depending on the final location of the bridge, there would also be a need for work to be undertaken on both sides of the river to integrate the bridge into the local footpath/highway network.
On the southern side of the river this may involve the creation of footpath links across land in the ownership of the Borough Council at The Hook.
There are two main potential design options for the bridge, a cable stayed bridge, which would require a tower on one side of the river from which cables would run to support the weight of the bridge deck, or a bow string arch bridge.
The final option and detailed design of the bridge will be dependent on the chosen location and a number of other factors, including a requirement to maintain navigation clearance under the bridge for certain craft.
Work is ongoing to finalise the preferred location and design of the bridge. Further details of the potential locations for the bridge and options for the general appearance of the bridge will be included in the presentation to the Group at the meeting.
The project has already been the subject of a business case to the Department for Transport (DfT) which gave a strategic and economic justification for the bridge.
This was accepted by both the DfT and the Treasury who have released £9.2m in funds for the delivery of the bridge.
The construction of the bridge will require planning permission. The administrative boundary between the City and Rushcliffe Borough runs roughly along the centre of the river. Therefore, it will be necessary for a duplicate application to be submitted to both the City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council.
It is proposed to undertake a public consultation exercise in the Autumn 2021
If planning permission is forthcoming, work would commence on the bridge in Summer 2022 with a view to it opening in early 2023.
Hugh McClintock, from Nottingham Pedals, has long supported the bridge, and works on the Bridge Steering Group.
He told a meeting on the subject last summer: “We’re particularly pleased as the bridge steering group to see that the bridge is definitely funded, nearly six years after we started campaigning.
“Although it’s now a city council project we’re very keen to work closely with the city council and other partners to make it successful, and in further consolidating support on both sides of the Trent, and we’ve had a lot of encouraging noises recently from Rushcliffe Borough Council, which is good.
“Another thing in terms of the wider context is the interest of the Environment Agency, we’ve consulted them all along, because one of the important things about the bridge is minimising flood risk when it comes to the design of the bridge itself and the height above the Trent.
“But also more widely the Environment Agency is trying to get funding for the Trent Gateway project, a very comprehensive and multi-faceted project covering all the Trent through Nottinghamshire, and that includes improved recreational opportunities.
“They’re very keen to see as part of that improved access for walkers and cyclists along both banks of the Trent and also improved routes to the Trent, and improved river crossings.
“I think it’s important, although we want to see it completed in the next two or three years and that’s part of the condition of funding, we have to look at the longer term, and how getting further improved access is vital, on both banks.”
