Caerphilly railway station footbridge will be removed

A footbridge at Caerphilly railway station — The footbridge at Caerphilly railway station

An “unsafe” footbridge over the tracks at Caerphilly railway station will be removed after months of uncertainty.

The bridge was shut and fenced off in July 2023 after inspectors noticed parts of the structure were “rocking” and “moving”.

Since then, the bridge has remained off-limits under a series of closure orders.

At a meeting on Wednesday February 21, Caerphilly Council’s cabinet members decided to knock down the bridge, at a cost of £200,000.

What is Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet?

A council’s cabinet is made up of councillors in charge of different policy areas – such as education, environment, local economy, etc – and a leader.

It is separate to the council’s corporate management structure, which is headed up by its chief executive and various directors. Cabinet is made up of councillors, who are elected and have the ultimate say.

Typically, cabinet members are councillors from the party with the most elected council members.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet is made up of:

Cllr Sean Morgan (Nelson) – Leader
Cllr Jamie Pritchard (Morgan Jones) – Deputy Leader; Prosperity, Regeneration and Climate Change
Cllr Nigel George (Risca East) – Corporate Services and Property
Cllr Eluned Stenner (New Tredegar) – Finance and Performance
Cllr Carol Andrews (Gilfach) – Education and Communities
Cllr Shayne Cook (Morgan Jones) – Housing
Cllr Elaine Forehead (Van) – Social Care
Cllr Philippa Leonard (Risca East) – Planning and Public Protection
Cllr Chris Morgan (Machen and Rudry) – Waste, Leisure and Green Spaces

Corporate management is made up of unelected employees of the council and has responsibility for day-to-day management of services, such as making sure the bins are collected. Corporate directors work with cabinet members to come up with policy which is then agreed upon by the cabinet.

_{Last updated October 13, 2023}

The cabinet opted against building a replacement, arguing it would cost nearly £2 million and would effectively lengthen journey times for pedestrians.

Marcus Lloyd, the council’s head of infrastructure, added that building a new bridge would lead to a protracted, expensive series of railway line closures while work was carried out.

Caerphilly Council’s responsibility for maintaining the footbridge dates back to a 1910 agreement signed by its predecessor authority.

The current “Tubewright” structure was opened in 1965 and had an estimated lifespan of 25 years, Chris Adams, the council’s highway engineering group manager, noted in a report.

It was “totally refurbished” in 1997 and its landings replaced in 2009 and 2012, but inspections last year deemed it “unsafe for public use”.

The bridge connects King Edward Avenue to Station Terrace, and if it is removed the distance into the town centre will be 260 metres – five metres more than it would be using the footbridge – the council said.

Any new bridge would need to be accessible, with inclusive ramps, and the added distance would mean journeys would increase to 578 metres, Mr Adams said in his report.

Council leader Sean Morgan suggested the authority could therefore “be getting nothing from” a replacement bridge.

Such a structure would also cost £1.9m and Caerphilly Council may be liable for its future maintenance, the cabinet was told.

At the meeting, members also considered spending £600,000 to repair the existing bridge, but the report noted this option “only provides a short-term solution”.

Cabinet members gave their unanimous backing to the demolition of the existing bridge, and the £200,000 costs will come from uncommitted capital earmarked reserves.

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Station footbridge declared ‘unsafe’ and will be removed

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