9711 - Provision and installation of a 24m x 2.5m bridge over the River Yare, between Bowthorpe Southern Park and Church Farm, Watton Road, Colney, Norwich NR4 7TX with associated landscape works - AWARD

The Green Infrastructure Delivery Board (a partnership between Broadland District Council, Norwich City Council, South Norfolk Council, Norfolk County Council and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership) wish to provide a new bridge across the River Yare, which runs along the southern boundary of the city of Norwich.

The bridge will link an existing public footpath (Norwich FP3) which runs north to south across Bowthorpe Southern Park too an existing Bridleway (Colney BR2) which emerges onto the B1108 Watton Road via Church Farm, Colney, Norwich NR4 7TX . The bridge will reconnect the two rights of way, re-establishing the historic link that was lost when the previous bridge was washed away in the 1950's

The bride will provide a direct link between the housing in Bowthorpe and the major employment locations at the Norwich Research Park (NRP) and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) . It will facilitate journeys to work on foot and also allow workers from the NRP and NNUH recreational access to Bowthorpe Southern Park and the riverside walk.

From an environmental angle, the material for the bridge access ramps will be excavated from site; from one of the ponds that was created when gravel was previously extracted for highways works. The excavations will allow for the creation of a fish fry refuge along the edge of the pond, which will be connected to the River Yare by an underground culvert and the infilling of a breach in the existing footpath. The

The budget available for this project is between £74,000 and £81,000.