Bridge over River Chet at Loddon to be repaired this year

The crossing at the Staithe in Loddon has been closed for more than 15 years after South Norfolk Council, which owns it, deemed it unsafe.

Norfolk Councillor Kay Mason Billig has been fighting for it to be repaired or replaced.

She has managed to secure £150,000 in funding to fix or replace it and hopes to use excess money to develop the Staithe, where boats moor on the River Chet, as an activity hub.

The damage to the footbridge at the Loddon Staithe (Image: Bruno Brown)Kay Mason Billig has fought for the bridge to be repaired (Image: Norfolk County Council)

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"We have another contractor on board, we hope that we will be able to get the bridge repaired this year," she said.

"I secured the money to pay for the repairs a couple of years ago and I know that that money, some £150,000, is still in the budget at South Norfolk for this purpose," Kay Mason Billig said.

"I also hoped to be able to use some of the funding to enable easier access to the river for kayaks and paddle board users.

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"South Norfolk officers are looking into the possibility of making either a slipway or using a floating pontoon to enable this to happen.

"We are so lucky to have such a lovely facility at the staithe and also at Pyes Mill, it would be amazing to be able to smarten these areas up and enable more activities to take place around the wonderful River Chet."

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Geese admiring the view at the Staithe at Loddon (Image: Angela Sharpe)

The bridge at the Staithe in Loddon crosses the River Chet to the Millennium Garden.

It had been open and used by the community since as early as the 1960s before it was closed more than a decade ago.

Town councillors will meet with South Norfolk Council's asset officer on June 7 to discuss plans to replace or repair the crossing.

The bridge was closed over health and safety concerns (Image: Bruno Brown)

The River Chet at Loddon (Image: Nick Butcher/Newsquest)

The broken footbridge at the Loddon Staithe taken in 2021 by Candy Kourakos (Image: Candy Kourakos)