THE COST of a proposed bridge in Weymouth has almost doubled.

The original may now be scrapped in favour of a more basic crossing.

Councillors have raised concerns over being asked to foot the bill for the bridge at Newstead Road after the cost shot up from £510,000 to £987,000.

The original bridge, which formed part of the Rodwell Rail, was demolished in 1987, and the new structure was being put forward as a flagship project for the town ahead of the Olympics next year.

The scheme received funding from cycling charity Sustrans and the Big Lottery Fund, with Dorset County Council contributing the rest.

The council’s director for environment Miles Butler told a meeting of the cabinet that the scheme was originally costed at £510,000 in July 2008, with the authority agreeing to pay £160,000.

However, he said the latest estimate for the scheme – on which the council had already spent £151,000 in design costs – was £987,000. He said reasons include a proposed increase in width of the bridge and the length, inflation and the cost of design work.

Mr Butler said that the proposal was for the council to increase its funding by £327,000 by diverting money allocated to its local transport plan, with the remaining £150,000 paid for by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Head of highways Andy Ackerman said that Sustrans had already agreed to invest £917,000 in projects across the county, including a contribution of £350,000 towards the costs of the bridge.

He said a significant proportion of the further funding was reliant on the Newstead Road bridge and it was hoped the total could rise to over £1million.

However, several cabinet members questioned whether the bridge, which had been designed by artist Bruce Williams, needed the proposed level of artistic ‘flair’ or whether the council should have to pay for the resulting increase in costs.

Cabinet member for corporate resources Spencer Flower said: “We live in times when we have got to live within our means and although we need this bridge I do question whether we have to have this degree of flair.”

Cabinet member for children’s services Toni Coombs added: “I am concerned that the balance between artistic merit and practicability is not right at the moment.”

Mr Butler responded to questions from councillors that the ‘artistic embellishment’ of the bridge – which included steel parapets made to look like twisting rope and a support column designed to look like a collection of masts – amounted to around £170,000 of the total cost.

Council leader Angus Campbell said members were agreed that there was a need for the bridge to be built. However, he said the cabinet should be in a position to consider other options, both in terms of a more basic design of the bridge and other funding avenues.

Members asked for the item to come back before their next meeting on June 15 to look into these other options.

Coun Campbell said: “I don’t think anyone here wants to destroy this project, that would be entirely wrong, but it seems to be at the last minute leaning on us to a degree to which perhaps it shouldn’t.”

Project 'should be welcomed'

WEYMOUTH councillor Howard Legg has urged the cabinet to support the Newstead Road bridge project and said it still represented ‘excellent value for money’.

Coun Legg was unable to attend the cabinet meeting but sent a letter urging members to support the scheme.

He said the proposed bridge had attracted considerable public interest and local school children had even been invited to submit designs for consideration.

Coun Legg said: “The cycling network in Weymouth is being notably extended and critical links between routes to interconnect them are in hand.

“This bridge is an integral part of that plan on the busy Rodwell Trail route to Portland at its intersection with the Marsh route.”

He added: “I never like it when costs escalate. In this instance though the contribution required from the county council must still be considered as excellent value for money.

“The willingness to contribute by so many other partners together with the very active involvement of school children and the public makes this a project to be welcomed and completed.”