DENBIGHSHIRE Council’s cabinet voted to scrap plans to replace a bridge destroyed in a storm, despite £1.5m being spent on design work.
The cabinet yesterday (Tuesday) considered a report on rebuilding Llanerch Bridge after the original structure was destroyed during Storm Christoph in January 2021, when the River Clwyd butrst its banks.
Council officers warned that if they drilled into the riverbed, it could contaminate a water supply to 85,000 homes.
That’s because the old bridge was above a vital freshwater aquifer that Dwr Cymru Welsh Water use to supply drinking water to residents.
Councillors heard how drilling into sandstone layers could create fissures, contaminating the lake.
Paul Jacksons, the council’s head of highways and environmental services. said: “There’s not been a design solution that has been found that completely removes the risk to that water asset.
“Therefore, the detailed design stage has concluded that it is not possible to construct a new bridge without the required foundations penetrating the weathered section of sandstone and putting a potential fissure in the aquifer, and again, interrupting that water supply.
“Welsh Water has stated that drilling into the aquifer would ultimately create a pathway for the risk of the water supply being contaminated, and that could lead to several factors, including risk and safeguarding their customers.
“It is a public health risk, and Welsh Water has stated that should the risk come to fruition, rectifying the issues created by drilling into the ground would be far from straightforward and extremely costly to resolve. It may not even be feasible to repair if we drill a physical pathway into the aquifer.”
He added: “They consider this to be extremely high risk, and they would suggest we don’t go ahead with this project.”
Mr Jackson said every design possible had been considered.
Last week, backbench councillors Chris Evans and James Elson argued about the inconvenience and extra cost to residents, raising the solution of a temporary bridge.
The pair said not building a bridge drastically affected the lives of residents in Tremeirchion, Rhuallt, Bodfari, Cwm, as well as those in Trefnant, Denbigh, Henllan, and Ruthin, particularly with the rise in the cost of fuel.
£1.5 million of Welsh Government funds has already been spent on the design work of the project.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Alan James also raised the matter of building a temporary bridge.
But Mr Jackson said a temporary bridge would still require the same foundations, so the risk would remain, arguing the proposal was unfeasible.
Leader Cllr Jason McLellan warned the cabinet: “If we go ahead and start construction, knowing the risk to the damage to the aquifer, we essentially owe a duty of care to Welsh Water’s customers that their water supply won’t be affected, and quite clearly the advice is that it might be, so that chain of events would mean that we would be negligent and liable.
“We haven’t got insurance, so we wouldn’t be able to go through the insurance route. We would be liable, and it could potentially be millions. You think what the number of days without water looks like, without the ability to run a tap, boil the kettle, flush your toilet, have a shower. What does that look like for 85,000 homes after two days, three days, four days a week. Our liability would be off the scale.”
Mr Jackson said the council would improve the road network, with £950,000 already secured from Welsh Government to upgrade ‘alternative routes’ and the diversion to make it “more pleasurable for commuters”.
But Cllr James Elson said the council had promised the residents a bridge.
“We must deliver on that promise,” he said.
He added there must be a solution such as a single-track bridge or a temporary “pre-fabricated” bridge set on benches without drilling.
He said the cost of such a bridge would be less than the £1.5m Denbighshire had already spent, claiming he had been given a quote by a construction company two years ago.
Mr Jackson reiterated a temporary bridge wasn’t possible, explaining a bridge without foundations could present a danger to “life and limb” during a flood.
Cllr Chris Evans then echoed Cllr Elson’s comments.
“There has been very little engagement from Denbighshire Council, which has had a detriment to this project,” he said.
“This again has had a massive impact on residents, feeling the bridge is not going to get built. It has been gone for four-odd years, and we have spent, or Welsh Government have spent, £1.5m to get to a set of drawings. I think that issue alone needs to be taken to the audit and governance committee.”
Cllr Evans then claimed that a local building contractor had indicated to him a bridge was possible.
“We have not looked with conviction at the temporary bridge,” he said.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but Jones Brothers builds motorways. He is the person that does the job. He is the knowledgeable chap that has looked at that.”
He added: “The residents want a crossing.”
Cllr Evans added residents and businesses were suffering and children couldn’t get to school.
He asked the cabinet to defer the decision so the matter could go to full council.
But Cllr McLellan said that would put Denbighshire in the “line of fire” for future litigation.
Corporate director Tony Ward said officers couldn’t win, having been criticised for spending £1.5m on designs, with it also being suggested they hadn’t done enough.
Cllr Gwyneth Ellis questioned whether a smaller bridge would need the same foundations, but Mr Jackson explained the foundations needed were due to the water pressure, not the weight on any bridge.
The cabinet voted unanimously in favour of ceasing work on the project.
