Repair work which will close one of the main footbridges from South Bristol into the city centre has been delayed and won’t start for a few weeks, Bristol Live understands.
But there is uncertainty and anger among business owners near the Gaol Ferry Bridge - which connects Southville to Wapping Wharf and the city centre - after the council initially announced the bridge was due to close on Monday.
That didn’t happen, and hasn’t happened yet, and Bristol City Council are yet to respond formally to requests from Bristol Live to find out what is going on and when the work will actually start.
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The council announced last week that work on repairing the bridge would see it closed from Monday and for almost all the rest of 2022 - so big is the project to restore it.
Business owners in Wapping Wharf have been dreading the closure, which will see people directed away from the recently-opened thoroughfare of bars, restaurants and shops and either to Bedminster Bridge or to Vauxhall Bridge to the west instead.
But those business owners have been left frustrated because people have already started avoiding the area thinking the bridge is closed, when it’s still open - and could well be for a least a couple of weeks. A spokesperson for Wapping Wharf said that they, like Bristol Live, have been trying to find out what is happening, and some businesses have been told the closure won’t now start for weeks.
“It now appears that the works at Gaol Ferry Bridge are not going to start for a few weeks and therefore the bridge is still open at the moment,” a spokesperson said.
“Obviously, the bridge provides significant passing trade for the commuters/pedestrians crossing over from south Bristol and we want to limit the impact of the closure so let the public know the bridge is still open. We are trying to get a firm date on the bridge closure.
Stuart Hatton, managing director of Umberslade, the developer behind Wapping Wharf, said: "We understand the need to carry out essential works to Gaol Ferry Bridge. However, we are concerned about the impact of its closure on the community of independent businesses at Wapping Wharf, particularly as this comes after a very challenging two years for the retail and hospitality sectors due to the pandemic. We are talking to the council about how this impact can be mitigated.
"We would encourage people to support this very special community of over 40 independent businesses by making use of alternative routes during the closure of the bridge," he added.
The Wapping Wharf businesses said they are in discussions with Bristol City Council to ask that the works are carried out as efficiently as possible and to explore all opportunities to re-open the bridge, or provide access, as quickly as possible.
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