Newly-elected MP for Thornbury and Yate in Gloucestershire, Claire Young, has written to a Government minister calling for support for local businesses impacted by the ongoing closure of the A432 Badminton Road bridge after it emerged that demolition is now not expected to start for another six months.
The bridge crosses the M4 near the Avon Ring Road and links Yate and Bristol. It has already been closed to traffic for more than a year after extensive cracking was discovered.
National Highways had initially been expecting the demolition to take place this summer or autumn, with construction completed in 2025.
However, the latest update on National Highways’ website says the amount of time needed for construction has been reduced, meaning pedestrians and cyclists can continue to use the bridge until it is prepared for demolition.
The demolition is now expected to take place in March 2025, subject to the successful diversion of all utilities within the bridge.
On Thursday the Liberal Democrat MP contacted the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Transport Simon Lightwood about the issues caused by the closure of the bridge.
She said: “The closure in June 2023 was due to investigations revealing damage to the bridge was so severe that it was unsafe for continued usage.
“These reports into the damage concluded that the existing bridge cannot be repaired long term or in a cost-effective manner, necessitating its demolition and rebuilding.
“Under the current timetable work will not begin removing the existing bridge until March 2025 – half a year away.
“As the former leader of South Gloucestershire Council, I was one of the first to hear about the issues and worked hard with both highways officials and fellow cabinet members to ensure that disruption was minimised and where possible offset. However, the current situation is simply not sustainable.
“As I am sure you can imagine, this has been a cause for concern for many local residents and businesses. Since my election last month, I have been contacted by several businesses who feels they are being let down by the failure of National Highways to offer compensation for lost trade.
“It is my understanding that National Highways currently do not offer any sort of financial support for businesses whose trade is derived from roadside traffic but I am concerned this leaves a swathe of affected businesses locked out of the help they need to stay afloat due to no fault of their own.”
