The bridge has been closed for restoration for two years alreadyCllr Andrew Varney and Cllr Jos Clark (Lib Dem, Brislington West) on the Sparke Evans Bridge between Arnos Vale and St Philips in BristolCllr Andrew Varney and Cllr Jos Clark (Lib Dem, Brislington West) on the Sparke Evans Bridge between Arnos Vale and St Philips in Bristol(Image: Andrew Varney)

The reopening of a key footbridge across the River Avon in Bristol has been delayed by another four months – because an access ramp onto the newly-refurbished bridge is ‘non-compliant’, say local councillors. The Sparke Evans Bridge, which connects the Arnos Vale and the Paintworks area of Brislington with Sparke Evans Park and the rest of St Philips, has been closed since October 2023.

The £2 million refurbishment project was due to take up to two years, and was on schedule to be completed and reopened next month – in October 2025. The bridge itself has now been repaired and restored successfully, but the delay has arisen from a problem with the access ramp, which has to be replaced, but the replacement is not suitable.

Local councillor Andrew Varney (Lib Dem, Brislington West) has told local residents that he and his Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Jos Clark, were informed that the bridge wouldn’t now open until February next year.

“It was originally due to reopen next month,” said Cllr Varney. “Although the extensive repair work on the bridge has largely been completed, the access ramp is non-compliant and needs to be replaced,” he added.

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“We’ve been told that the bridge cannot safely be reopened with the existing ramp. The ramp was not part of the original funding package – an unfortunate oversight – and additional funding from the West of England Combined Authority has not been forthcoming despite our repeated requests for a decision,” said Cllrs Varney and Clark, who represent the area on the south side of the bridge.

“The council has now decided to go ahead with the new ramp while the contractors are on site and hopefully secure funding at a later date,” they said, adding that they were informed by the chair of the Bristol’s Transport Policy Committee, Cllr Ed Plowden (Green, Windmill Hill).

Sparke Evans Park Bridge in Bristol(Image: Bristol City Council)

The work that has now been largely completed included removing all the decking on the footbridge, carrying out a detailed inspection to assess its full condition, masonry repairs, repairing the bridge’s structure, including the suspension cables and the metalwork, and repainting the entire bridge.

Bristol City Council has not announced the delay publicly yet – and a dedicated page for the Sparke Evans Bridge on the section of the council’s website dealing with the multiple projects to refurbish the bridges across the New Cut and the River Avon do not mention any delays, and still – as of Tuesday afternoon, September 9 – says that the work began in October 2023 and will to ‘up to two years’.