Council actively seeking funding to deliver third bridge at Peterborough's Cuckoo's Hollow following previous budget shortage

Hopes have been raised that a third bridge at Peterborough’s Cuckoo’s Hollow could be delivered in the future at the official opening of two new bridges at the site.

Surveys in late 2023 found that old bridges at Baron Court, Lakeside and Welbourne between Gunthorpe and Werrington, had undergone rapid deterioration and become unsafe; therefore forcing them to be closed to the public in January 2024.

The bridges then remained closed to the public for over 18 months but during the closure, the council announced that it would only be able to finance two of the bridges.

The council has said that the cost for parts and services has come in around £1.2 million for the Lakeside and Baron Court bridges. Funding of £600,000 has been made available by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to assist in the repairs.

Speaking at the official opening of the bridges on Friday afternoon (May 16), Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport Angus Ellis insisted that funding sources were being explored to deliver the third Welbourne bridge.

Cllr Ellis said: “Cuckoo’s Hollow is a wonderful nature reserve. We now have two lovely bridges and are hoping to get funding for a third as soon as possible. It is a real gem in Peterborough.

We are grateful for all of the work of the Combined Authority and Peterborough City Council to get these constructed over the past year. There is still work to do, we will approach different funding sources for the third bridge.”

Newly-elected Combined Authority Mayor Paul Bristow also attended the opening and issued a message to the council to “get on” with delivering the bridge, expressing the inconvenience residents in the area have suffered over the past 18 months.

Mr Bristow said: “The closure of these bridges has caused a great deal of inconvenience for residents., effectively cutting off communities. I know how terrible it has been here and have been pressing to see this completed. It’s a huge relief to everybody.

“I definitely want to work with the council on a third bridge, my message to Peterborough City Council is let’s get on with it. This has been a huge inconvenience for residents. It is a positive we are opening it but we need to get some perspective because this has been terrible for local people. While we can celebrate the bridges, there’s not a lot to celebrate for the residents that have been cut off for the past 18 months.”

Werrington ward councillor John Fox added: “The bridges are very important. They are the loop around the lake, the lake is a jewel in the crown of Werrington. We needed the replacement bridges because they were unsafe. Unfortunately. they had to all be replaced at the same time. We have been promised that the third bridge if coming. I am over the moon.”