£44,000 flood repair project set to start in Bridgnorth

Contractors will move on to Quayside in Bridgnorth during the week of October 5.

Unstable parts of the stonework will be replaced with a concrete mix, and depending on river levels the work will take about a fortnight to complete.

Damage has been caused to the walkway by storms and floods over a number of years. The footpath and steps along the west bank of the River Severn flood regularly but cannot be insured due to its close proximity to the water.

Much of the damage was noticed during an inspection last year and the area has been affected by bad weather since.

The repair work will have to be paid for out of reserves kept by Bridgnorth Town Council. The council revealed in March the damage was not covered by the authority's insurance policy.

Councillors were previously told there was no money available in the budget and the £43,995 cost would have to come out of council reserves.

Barry Ince, the council's outdoors and properties manager, said: "There have been a number of exploratory digs that have taken place over the last couple of months to see what types of repairs are needed for the quayside.

"The latest dig found that using ground anchors was no longer a viable option because of there is no bedrock to anchor into.

"The alternative method is to dig a void and remove any unstable material, which includes materials that were used years ago when some old steps were filled in.

"This will be replaced with a concrete mix and done over several stages."

Mr Ince said work had been delayed by more than a year while the council waited for approval from the Environment Agency to begin.

"There will be some disruption in the area and we apologise in advance for any problems caused," he said.

"The quayside walkway will be closed while the work is carried out along with a lay-by in Underhill Street.

"The work should all come within budget and at the moment we are not looking at any additional costs.

"The land had to be tested near the steps to make sure the work did not pollute the river because some of the regulations were different when the work was first carried out."

The quayside was the former landing quay of the port of Bridgnorth and was last refurbished by the town council in 1995, with the assistance of £180,000 of European grant aid and a partnership with English Heritage.