CONISTON Cold Bridge is open again to two way traffic after it was damaged last week when a lorry collided with part of the parapet.

North Yorkshire County Council has installed a temporary concrete parapet to replace the 15 metre stretch which ended up in the river below while it considers a permanent solution to the narrow bridge on the A65.

It is currently looking at various options to improve access at the 'pinch point' and reduce risk of disruption caused by possible future collisions, with a report expected by the end of the month.

But it has warned any long term solution involving building work is likely to be expensive and require planning permission.

Options are believed to include a new single direction carriageway to the side of the existing structure, and permanent traffic lights.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said: " A feasibility study for the project is progressing and the council is presently waiting for ground investigation reports."

Any possible building work will require planning permission as the bridge is grade two listed, and will need funding.

The spokesman added: "If a practicable solution can be found through this feasibility study the next most critical steps to putting any proposal into practice would be to gain planning permission and to find the funding to carry out any proposed work.

"Planning permission will inevitably be difficult to secure as the existing bridge is a grade II listed structure. If planning permission was ultimately granted then it would be a matter of seeking to secure the necessary funding which is likely to be significant given the scale of project involved."

The bridge was damaged on Monday last week when an HGV collided with part of the parapet, leading to the council installing temporary traffic lights.

Last year, the bridge, which carries traffic to the M6 and the Lake District, was reduced to one way only from August to November following an almost identical collision.