Council spends £1.2m on bridge before construction

25 November 2025

Joe GriffinLocal democracy reporter

News image — The Cygnet Bridge project will link Fletton Quays to the Embankment in Peterborough

Peterborough City Council An artist's impression of Cygnet Bridge. There are people walking over the bridge and by the river. A river runs underneath the bridge with canal boats on it. — The Cygnet Bridge project will link Fletton Quays to the Embankment in Peterborough

More than £1m has been spent on a new bridge before construction has got under way.

The Cygnet Bridge project aims to link Fletton Quays to the Embankment in Peterborough, creating a "walkable, liveable city" and reducing pressure on city centre traffic.

The project was forecast to cost £6.3m, but in January Peterborough City Council asked for £2m of additional funding for complex design modifications and sewer diversions.

A Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service has revealed the council has already spent £1.2m on a detailed design, structural checks and professional fees.

Funding has come from the council, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and the government's Towns Fund.

Peterborough City Council An artist's impression of the Cygnet Bridge over the River Nene. It shows a bridge held up by a tower and cables, with greenery and the cathedral in the background. — A Freedom of Information request has revealed that £1.2m has already been spent on the project

Originally, the project was estimated to be completed by November last year before it was later said that the bridge would be completed by summer 2026.

Sewer diversion works began in September but, in a bid to avoid poor weather, the main construction work is now set to begin next year.

The council said it was committed to ensuring the bridge was "both cost-effective and sustainable" in the long term.

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