Bidford Bridge crash update - Hopes of new bridge for village are ‘unrealistic’

The car was only able to be moved safely on Monday after structural engineers had begun extensive surveying work.

Speculation was rife on how exactly the Uber driver had managed to arrive in such a position in the early hours. “It’s something only the driver can account for,” noted one observer.

Police were called around 5am to the scene, where they spoke to the male driver. Warwickshire Police were yet to confirm if charges would be brought against the man.

The bridge is expected to be closed until at least November, meaning motorists face a seven-mile detour to cross the river at Binton Bridge to access Bidford.

It is the third such incident in recent years. In June 2015 the Grade I listed bridge, which dates back to medieval times, was partially destroyed when a crop-sprayer crashed into a wall and sent masonry flying into the River Avon below. The bridge had to be closed for several months while specialist repair work was carried out, which cost around £390,000. It took Warwickshire County Council two years to recoup costs from the driver’s insurance company.

And it is currently battling to get recompense from an incident in 2021, when a van struck and badly damaged one of its parapets. As the case is ongoing the council said it could not reveal the figures involved.

However it confirmed that it would be pursuing another insurance claim following the latest incident.

A spokesperson told the Herald: “Costs incurred and arising from the county council's response from point of incident which include the emergency response, repairs to the bridge and traffic management associated to the incident will be part of the insurance claim pending.”

Speaking to the Herald in the aftermath of the incident, district councillor Daren Pemberton (Con, Bidford East) spoke about the impact on the community.

He said: “It is a devastating blow, particularly for the businesses on the high street and up on the industrial estate. They rely on both their workers and people buying their services.

“This is the third major strike in six or seven years. I think there’s an element of weariness about it. The only irony is that it’s not a 38-tonne HGV. So far we’ve had Transit van, a farm van and now a Toyota Prius.”

He continued: “It’s going to be a huge challenge. We’ve got a cost of living crisis, and this is the last thing that businesses need. You can imagine the business owners are really not very happy. And neither is the community.”

Time-wise, officials have currently said the bridge will remain closed to traffic until November, but Cllr Pemberton feared that could be extended.

Structural engineers and experts from the county council and Historic England are currently investigating, but this could take weeks before a report on what is needed is fully drawn up.

“I think it’ll probably be a month before we know what the likely closures will be,” said Cllr Pemberton. “But we know from the past it’s been months rather than weeks. It feels similar to the 2015 incident. It’s not a two-week repair job.”

When the bridge closed in 2015, restaurants and other businesses saw a 20 per cent fall in trade.

Cllr Pemberton appealed to people to still try and support Bidford outlets.

“I know it may be 20-minute detour, but I’d urge everyone to keep on coming to Bidford and support the businesses at this crucial time. They’re still there, they’re open for business, and they need their customers more than ever.”

On top of this, Cllr Pemberton said he was exploring ways the businesses could be helped financially.

“This is the second hit in probably four years that these businesses have had. I don’t know the answer yet, but we’re going to ask the questions and see what can be done to support businesses at parish, district and county levels – whether that’s interim financial support or putting on extra markets.”

As the latest bridge catastrophe unfolded, many called for a new bridge to be erected that could better cope with the increased traffic generated by a growing population.

Sharing his thoughts, resident Wayne Gould said: “The bridge is obviously not fit for purpose anymore, yes it’s the identity of the village but it is 500 years old. There is only so much damage it can take before it is completely written off. Something new or a complete makeover is needed.”

While Mandy Lewis agreed, starting a discussion on Facebook, she commented: “Can we all come together to lobby [Warwickshire] council and highways to turn the old bridge into a pedestrian and bike only crossing, and we get a bridge for cars and lorries put up further along the river to cross? We have had so many issues with this now and the poor bridge is being destroyed.”

While the call for a new bridge was a popular idea, Cllr Pemberton said it was just not realistic.

He told the Herald: “The reality is it’s not feasible to have a new bridge in Bidford. With buildings and private land either side, widening or replacing the bridge isn’t possible. Even if hypothetically the bridge was replaced the traffic might cross over even more quickly.”

He continued: “And if it were outside Bidford, by the time you take a road across the field and out to the A46 and across the river, I bet you wouldn’t have much change out of the cost of the proposed South West Relief Road (SWRR), which would probably be a similar order.”

Plans for the SWRR were largely abandoned due to a lack of funding around three years ago.

“I haven’t done the maths, but if I’m being absolutely honest, I struggle to envisage a scenario where the money could be found for that. So that’s just not realistic,” said Cllr Pemberton.

“It’s a beautiful 500-year-old bridge, we should try and keep it if we can. A lot of people feel that, some people say, well, replace it. But it seems impractical to do that.”

Instead, he is pressing for safety improvements.

“I think what we have to do is to make it more difficult for drivers to travel too quickly across the bridge. We need to focus on enhancing it more, giving it pedestrian priority, if you will, and using different measures to make it safe.

“All three of the major incidents have been vehicles approaching the bridge from the Honeybourne Road side, which is a long, straight road up to the bridge.

“I’m going to try as hard as I possibly can to get some changes on either side of the bridge to make it less likely that this happens again.”

He continued: “It’s challenging and may take some time. Because it’s an historic bridge, you can’t nip to B&Q and get some breeze blocks and fix it in a weekend.”

Cllr Pemberton’s final thoughts were for all those that stepped up at the weekend to help.

He said: “County officers really moved very quickly. They were out there Saturday morning, and moved the car slightly so that the bridge could be used the next day, and the duck race could go ahead, which is such a big community event.

“And even developer Kendrick Homes up in Welford changed its planned works.

“Everybody who was involved, particularly the county council officers, played a blinder.”