Castle Park Middle Mill bridge could take 'months' to open

Brickwork from the Middle Mill Weir at Castle Park fell into the River Colne in December, resulting in the closure of a nearby bridge.

Speaking at a meeting, Colchester Council’s neighbourhoods boss Martin Goss confirmed discussions are underway to make the route operational again, but he warned it won’t be resolved quickly.

Mr Goss advised a group of key stakeholders has been formed, including the city and county councils, Historic England, Natural England, the Environment Agency, and Anglian Water.

Diversion - an alternative route is in place (Image: Newsquest)

“All of those bodies’ officers are talking and looking at options,” he said.

But that process has been delayed after an officer working on the issue was involved in a road traffic accident, Mr Goss explained.

The Mile End councillor said: “We are now awaiting the formal engineering options with costs, so we should get that shortly and that will get us a better indication of how much money, what the options are, how long it’s going to take and then we will have to look to get funding.

“The options will have to be discussed with all the stakeholders and until such time we can’t leave that bridge open because potentially it could collapse and wash away. We obviously can’t put the public in danger.”

Council boss - Martin Goss, the councillor responsible for neighbourhoods in Colchester

He was answering questions from members of the CO1 Residents’ Association, who raised concerns about the accessibility and safety of diversion routes in place for pedestrians.

Mr Goss added: “We will publish the options as quickly as we can in the coming weeks once we’ve actually received it and once the stakeholders are happy or it’s been challenged.

“We will look at the routes. I can’t make any promises… but we will certainly do what we can.

“It’s quite complex. It is going to take time and even once we get the options and decide on it, it’s many, many months of work potentially to re-instate, rebuild, do whatever it is we decide to do.

“This is not going to be quick, but we will push it as quickly as we can.”