PLANS to carry out work at the listed Broughton Bridge, off the A59, have been lodged by the highways authority, North Yorkshire County Council.

In an application statement to Craven District Council, the county council says the bridge and its retaining walls are in need of urgent repair in order to protect and preserve the historical listed structure and the surrounding park and gardens of Broughton Hall.

The proposed work will include the dismantling and rebuilding of the east and west retaining walls, buttresses and parapets using the existing stone.

The statement reads: “The structure was identified as needing maintenance works because the steel braces which were put into the main arch pre 1980s, have failed with one of the tie bars now hanging off the bridge.”

A previous attempt to repair the bridge has failed because of the presence of clay infill, which it is planned will be excavated.”Multiple options have been identified, however, it is thought that unless the clay is removed entirely, any option that doesn’t involve removing the clay would only mask the problem.” Work is expected to take 35 weeks.