Congham Bridge: 100-year-old Norfolk bridge must be restored after National Highways filled it with concrete

A total of £126,000 of work must be undone after a local authority order a railway bridge be restored to its original condition. The arches of the structure have been filled with hundreds of tons of concrete causing outcry among locals.

The historic Congham Bridge in Norfolk, was filled by England's national road agency National Highways in 2021 during work it said was needed to make the crossing safe.

However, this sparked outrage among locals and now West Norfolk Council have ordered the agency to reverse the infilling of the bridge, which was built in 1923. The structure was built following the designs of engineer William Marriot and was part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network.

But the railway line was forced to close in 1959 as parts were in a bad condition following the Second World War.

Graeme Bickerdike from the HRE Group, who campaigned against National Highways, said he is 'delighted' that the structure will return to its previous state. He said: "We are obviously delighted by the planning committee’s refusal of this retrospective planning application.

"National Highways’ actions at Congham Bridge were unlawful, unnecessary and destructive, undermining trust and confidence in its custodianship of our great railway heritage. We look forward to Congham Bridge seeing the light of day again and being sympathetically repaired. However, we note National Highways’ intention to appeal the council’s unanimous decision.

"Alongside its misapplication of emergency permitted development rights in this case, proves once again that the company does not respect democratic process."

Hélène Rossiter, head of the historical railways estate at National Highways, said they intend to appeal the council's decision. She said: "National Highways is proud of our role in preserving the Historical Railways Estate for the nation. We note the decision made by the planning committee.

"While we respect the views expressed, we do not feel that the decision adequately reflects the safety concerns we have for Congham Road bridge and are planning to ask the planning inspectorate to review it on appeal. Decisions we made at this site were driven first and foremost by safety."

This is the second time National Highways have been forced to restore a historic bridge. Engineers are currently digging out thousands of tons of concrete from Great Musgrave Bridge in Cumbria after the council ordered the agency to restore it.