New pedestrian bridge planned for Rickmansworth Aquadrome

Three Rivers District Council has agreed to allocate £320,524 to replace the current pedestrian bridge off Riverside Drive, next to Ebury Play Area, after a report that the bridge, although safe to use, was reaching the end of usable life and would require significant repairs in the coming years.

Cllr Chris Lloyd, Lead Member for Leisure, said: “I am pleased to see that the council has taken the first step to replace the pedestrian bridge with a new key access into the wonderful Rickmansworth Aquadrome.

“The old bridge is showing its age and it is not sustainable for the council to keep repairing it. A new bridge will not only future proof the access for the years to come but also enhance the area and create a new link for cyclists to enter the local nature reserve.”

Subject to design work and planning permissions, the council is now proposing to have a much wider bridge - up to 4.5m wide - to allow shared usage for pedestrians and cyclists.

At a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (12 July), councillors agreed to allocate funds from the Community Infrastructure Levy pot towards this – a charge the council implements on new developments – whilst bidding to the Department for Transport’s Paths for Everyone funding programme for a further £961,572 to fully fund it.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Council Deputy Leader and Lead member for Planning and Infrastructure, said: “The government rightly wants to encourage cycling and walking and if we can secure this money that is available from the government we can have a bang up to date bridge that enables both, and that will last for future generations. I am pleased the council has agreed that this is the way forward and we were able to allocate the funding.”

The outcome of the bid will be known later in the year and a planning application will be submitted for the new bridge in due course.