Content

Decision
 
RESOLVED that Cabinet
approved the allocation of £98,000 from Reserves to fund
repairs to the footbridges in Aberford Park.
 
Reasons for
decision
 
Following inspection in September 2025, one of
the three footbridges had been closed due to safety concerns. The
immediate decking had come loose in places. Inspection of this
apparently superficial issue has shown that the bridges were
constructed on a steel frame. This frame was solid and did not need
repair. The bridge decking and handrails were secured to the steel
frame via a hardwood subframe. This subframe had started to rot and
needed replacing. Although the remaining two bridges were currently
safe, inspection had revealed that all three were constructed at
the same time. This request for funding was being brought forward
outside of the normal sequence of capital bids to allow works to be
commissioned and implemented on all three bridges before Easter
2026, when the park starts to become heavily used.
 
Officers had received initial quotes for works
required resulting in a budget of £98K for the works. Works
would involve replacing all timber supports, fitting new deck
boards, fixing any loose posts and securing with concrete spurs
where necessary and sanding and treating all handrails and
spindles.
 
Alternative Options
Considered
 
Do nothing – this had been discounted as
an option as it inevitably would have meant the closure of all
three bridges and loss of access to the park from Brook Road. It
would also entail the removal of the steel structures, and costs
associated with that.
 
Delay repairs – repairs could be delayed
for agreement of the wider capital programme. This had been
discounted for the reasons set out in the report i.e. the bridges
are a key part of the park and access to it and should be restored
at the earliest opportunity and during the colder periods when the
park is not as busy. Works could also be phased so the current
failed bridge is repaired and further repairs carried out to the
remaining two bridges once they fail. This has been discounted as
it is more cost efficient to repair all three at the same time and
given all three were constructed at the same time they are judged
likely to fail inspection at some point in the next 12
months.