What you need to know about new multi-million pound footbridge

Construction of a new £8.3m footbridge is set to start in Peterborough.

Cygnet Bridge, over the River Nene, was named following a consultation in summer 2023 and will link Fletton Quays to the Embankment.

Peterborough City Council hoped the new bridge would help create a "walkable, liveable city" and reduce pressure on city centre traffic routes.

The authority said it would also directly link people to the Goods Shed, a former derelict railway building that is planned to be developed into a food and drinks hall.

Initially, the bridge was estimated to cost £6.3m, funded with contributions from the city council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), and the government's Towns Fund.

But in January last year, the city council asked the CPCA to provide an extra £2m.

The council said this was due to complex design modifications and higher costs for sewer diversions.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service in November revealed that the council had already spent approximately £1.2m on the project prior to its construction.

The council said this money was spent on detailed design and structural checks as well as professional fees.

The total funding for the bridge so far includes £2m from the government's Towns Fund, £5.4 million from the CPCA and the rest from the city council's redevelopment budget.

Sewer diversion works for the bridge began in September last year, but the main construction work will not begin until 2026 to avoid poor weather.

This is despite an original estimated completion date of November 2024.

The bridge construction was at one point due to be completed by summer 2026, but this is now unlikely to be the case.

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

A new completion date has not yet been confirmed.

During the city council's initial consultation on the bridge, 566 people completed online surveys and 165 people participated in public pop-up events.

The surveys found that 79% of the people who responded supported the bridge, and 55% said the bridge would encourage them to walk or cycle more.

Planning approval was granted for the bridge in December 2024.

The following month, the plans drew criticism from residents when interviewed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, with some questioning the need for the bridge and its value for money.

The late Nick Thulbourn, who was the council's cabinet member for growth and regeneration at the time, said the bridge was a "vitally important piece of infrastructure".

"We understand that people may not realise the full benefit of a bridge now, but they will once this area of the city develops further," he said.

The £2m Towns Fund money is ring-fenced, meaning the council can only spend it on this project.

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