Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has today announced that following a planned safety inspection, the Works Bridge, near the site of the former aggregates processing area, has been closed to ensure public safety. The unexpected closure means that pedestrians will have to follow alternative routes.

Speaking about the closure, Head of Nature Recovery (South) Wayne Ball said: “We are disappointed to have to close the bridge as we recognise it will cause significant inconvenience to visitors to part of the reserve, but we have to put public safety first.”

The bridge was repaired and deemed safe prior to the charity acquiring the site in December 2020, but a safety check by professional engineers identified structural failings – triggering the closure. Since taking ownership of the site, the Trust has been working on plans to remove, replace or repair a number of bridges across the reserve - a project that require significant planning and funding. Due to the scale of the overhaul of all the bridges, the unexpected closure of the Works Bridge means a short but important section of the footpath network will remain closed for some considerable time.

The Bridge links the Delta Path with the River via the Bund – and also links the Delta Path with Attenborough Village via Works Pond. The diversion will mean visitors retracing their steps or taking a longer route.

Mr Ball explained: “Despite the significant financial challenges presented by the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and avian flu, since we acquired the reserve, in addition to carrying out ongoing management for this wonderful site and dozens of others across the county, we’ve still been able to invest in significant new habitat creation and interpretation and upgrades to the visitor facilities thanks to the generosity of our members, donors and regular visitors. However, overhauling the bridges is a major undertaking requiring heavy engineering and high levels of funding and is not something we achieve quickly. The Works Bridge has now been deemed beyond repair and whilst we are working to resolve the situation as soon as possible – it is vital that we are able to sort all of the bridges in a cost effective way – and this will inevitably take time.”