Residents of a village are in uproar that plans have been granted to knock down a 150-year-old bridge.

The proposals to knock down the Wakes Colne bridge, which runs over a disused railway line, were granted at a Colchester Council planning meeting in May.

Planners say the bridge is structurally unsound and it would be too expensive to rebuild it.

But villagers, Ian and Sue Stratford, of Lane Road, said the decision to destroy the bridge would ruin the nature of Wakes Colne.

Mrs Stratford said: "It is a historic feature and dates back to the time of the viaduct in Chappel. It runs over the now disused Halstead railway line and is a charming hump-backed bridge. To knock it down would spoil the landscape of the area.

"It is also of historic value. There are a lot of inscriptions carved into it from soldiers in the first world war. It is sad that these will be taken away."

Mrs Stratford said she is also concerned about road safety if the bridge is knocked down.

She said: "Cars could not fly along as the hump slowed them down. This will now be levelled out and there will be nothing there to stop them speeding. It is a little country road and many cars go too fast as there is not a 30 mph speed limit."

Neighbour Joan Allcock said she was also dismayed by the plans.

She said: "The bridge is a lovely feature. I am upset. It could have been rebuilt rather than razed to the ground. There will be nothing there now."

Colchester Council development manager Vincent Pearce confirmed planning permission had been granted on May 20.

He said: "The bridge is structurally unsound and it is going to be knocked down. The arch underneath is going to be filled in and the road reconstructed.

"One of the options would be to rebuild the bridge but the railway is not used so the bridge is redundant and it would be expensive to do that."

Mr Pearce said every attempt would be made to preserve the inscribed bricks. He said: "The writing was not of significant historic importance to justify preserving the bridge but it is of local interest so when the bridge is dismantled the bricks will be kept."

Mr Pearce said that an attempt to preserve wildlife had also been made by making an underground pipe system to allow animals to continue to travel under the bridge.

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