WE are appalled at the proposals put forward by Essex County Council for Boxted Bridge (Gazette, November 26).

This is wholly contrary to the council’s reputation of being a good steward of both the natural and manmade heritage of the county of Essex.

Boxted Bridge may be a modest structure but it resonates with history and stands in one of the most beautiful river landscapes in East Anglia.

This landscape is recognised not only in Essex but at national level as a place of outstanding beauty deserving exceptional care in view of its fragility and the repeated damaging pressures on it.

It is thanks to the constant vigilance of local people that it survives so well.

Read more >> Thousands of campaigners in fight to save historic bridge from being demolished

The sudden proposal to replace the Boxted bridge to improve passage by HGVs is doubly culpable as Essex Country Council has been appraised of the problem for 29 years yet failed to address it.

More recently a simple notice announcing ‘not suitable for heavy vehicles’ has had a recognised effect in reducing the number of HGVs.

Quite apart to the threat to the bridge caused by these evidently unsuitable vehicles, many taking unsuitable short cuts prompted by sat-navs, these vehicles should be discouraged from using unsuitable roads in the famed beauty spot.

Marcus Binney CBE HonFRIBA FSA

SAVE Britain’s Heritage