ECC planning committee will decide on the Boxted bridge application on 25.04.2025 at 10.30. 

Disregarding multiple objections including from the Dedham Vale National Landscape Team, Colchester City Council, Boxted and Stoke by Nayland Parishes, and the findings of two expert independent highly experienced conservation engineer recommendations, the Planning Officer's report on the bridge, read here,  (p 23- 119) concludes with a Recommendation for the proposal of replacement on a wider footprint. 

The controversial application has been ongoing since 2021. Highways have spent over £500,00 of tax payers money justifying their proposal with desk studies and reports yet none of the following basic essential documents are available for the committee to make a rational decision:

Value for Money Report, Cost of demolition and replacement, Detailed design, Construction Risk Assessment (for building in a flood plain), Safety Audit of the design (for a wider flatter bridge encouraging increased speed), Carbon footprint analysis for a 1300 tonne cement bridge. 

Highways have for the last 8 months delayed carrying out any structural calculations to determine the capacity of the current bridge (Dynamic Load Test) whilst keeping it closed since June 2023 on safety grounds. This crucial test and data has been unaccountably delayed by highways for months so that no supporting evidence that the bridge does have strength appears in the planning documents.

We will be speaking at the planning hearing as well as others to put our case forward for the application to be refused and the repair option to be fairly investigated.

SAVE OUR BRIDGE!