Powys: Welshpool footbridge fixed as council prepare rebuild

Welshpool town councillor and former mayor Nick Howells thanked operations manager Paul McGrath and local carpenter John Bedford for carrying out emergency repairs to the bridge over the Montgomery Canal near Berriew Road.

The repairs were carried out on Saturday, May 19, with broken treads on the bridge being replaced to make it structurally safe, after an inspection described the surface as “in a serious state of dilapidation”.

It is the second time during the last 12 months that the bridge has needed emergency repairs, after it was temporarily closed off in June 2023 to fix some broken wooden panels.

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Cllr Howells said: “For the last 12 months or so, as Mayor I tried my best to get the footbridge over the canal restored as an issue of public safety.

“I have reported before that I had several meetings with other 'relevant bodies', Powys County Council, Canal and Riverboat Trust who all denied any ownership or responsibility, which I found extremely frustrating.

“We required a slight emergency repair last year which was carried out by a caring local contractor as a goodwill gesture to the town.

“Operations Manager Paul McGrath and I discussed this, and he said he would get involved in 'sorting it out'. Paul and his team have monitored the bridge over the last year or so and have serious concerns about public safety.

“A practical inspection by the operations team recently showed that the surfacing on the apex of the bridge was in a serious state of dilapidation. We have had fabricators in to look at the overall restoration but felt that interim repairs needed to be done immediately to make it safe for the public.

“Thanks to a carpenter who has been working locally, John Bedford, who has been liaising with Paul, the emergency repairs have been completed. Huge thanks to Paul and John on this, as the bridge is now structurally safe. We just now need to raise the funds for a full renovation which we will all be working towards as far as we can.”