Decision details

Reasons for the Decision – To consider progress, since August 2020, in respect of the proposal to create a new traffic free bridge over the River Trent in Burton to improve access for pedestrians and cyclists between the east and west sides of the river, increasing access to the town centre and the Washlands park.

Decision – (a) That the earmarked award of £7,183,099 from the Burton Town Fund grant towards the creation of a new traffic free bridge over the River Trent at Stapenhill Hollows, Burton be noted.

(b) That the feedback received as part of the public consultation exercise which was conducted as part of the Business Plan process be noted.

(c) That the risks around affordability and useability in the flood plain be noted and that the Cabinet be supportive of the project proceeding conditional on these issues being mitigated to the Council’s satisfaction which will require additional external funding to be secured to enable the full scheme to be implemented as originally presented to the Town Deal Board.

(d) That the submission of the Business Case to East Staffordshire Borough Council, as the accountable body, in conjunction with the Burton Town Fund process agreed by Government, in the sum of £7,183,099 to secure the pre-Business Case costs, future design fees, tendered cost of the river crossing, associated ramps and footway links and a 12.5% construction contingency fund as set out in the Business Case, be agreed.

(e) That the preparation of a complimentary Business Case in readiness to include within the County Council’s bid to the Levelling Up Fund, or other suitable external funding opportunities, to secure the necessary additional funding to complete the entire length of the stilted walkway structure either side of the new river crossing linking to Stapenhill Road to the east and Andressey Bridge and the Remembrance Gardens to the west, be agreed.

(f) That the Cabinet receives further reports once the detailed design stage has been completed and the tendered construction costs are known in order to establish the position of the separate funding bids which combine to create an overall project and does not proceed to award any construction contract until Cabinet are satisfied that sufficient funding and contingencies are in place.

(g) That the principle of adopting the bridge, ramps and stilted walkway structures as part of the local publicly maintainable highway network, whilst continuing to work with East Staffordshire Borough Council and Government to investigate innovative ways of offsetting future maintenance costs including potential commercial sponsorship and the retention of any unspent construction contingency to be ring-fenced to this specific bridge as a commuted maintenance sum, be agreed.