The bridge of sighs! Nine months of roadworks split village in two and leave residents with an eight-mile detour to get to the shops
Residents of Brewood, a canal-side village in Staffordshire, say their community has been split in two by the closure of a historic bridge, forcing an eight-mile detour to reach shops, schools, a pub and a GP surgery that are normally just 300 yards away. The bridge, built by Thomas Telford in the 1830s over the Shropshire Union Canal, was shut in November after a sinkhole opened up, and villagers are frustrated that nine months on, with repairs seemingly stalled amid a dispute over who is responsible, there is still no clear reopening date.
The sinkhole, thought to have been caused by a leaking water pipe, also damaged the bridge's walls and supporting columns, and appeared shortly after a nearby M54 closure sent heavy traffic over the structure as a detour. The Canal and River Trust, which owns the bridge, had planned to start repairs in spring, but so far only Severn Trent has carried out work, fixing water and waste pipes, amid reports of a dispute with Staffordshire County Council over liability. Locals, including a retired canal worker, a heating engineer and a pub landlord, say the closure is hitting daily life and trade, with some fearing the bridge may not reopen until next year.
- Sinkhole shut historic Brewood bridge in November, splitting the village.
- Nine months on, residents face an eight-mile detour for basic amenities.
- Repairs stalled amid dispute between Canal and River Trust and council.
New here? Start with this
Brewood is a village in Staffordshire built either side of the Shropshire Union Canal, with its shops, school, pub and GP surgery all clustered close together on the far side of a bridge from much of the housing. That bridge, dating from the 1830s and designed by the engineer Thomas Telford, is normally the quickest way for residents to reach those everyday services, which sit only a few hundred yards away.
The bridge has been closed since November, after a sinkhole appeared beneath it, damaging its walls and supporting columns. It is thought the sinkhole was caused by a leaking water pipe, and it opened up not long after a nearby motorway closure had been sending extra traffic over the bridge as a diversion route.
Repairs have yet to properly get under way, with responsibility for the work reportedly disputed between the bridge's owner, the Canal and River Trust, and Staffordshire County Council, while the local water company has separately fixed pipework in the area. With no firm date for the bridge to reopen, residents have had to rely on a much longer road route to get around, which is why the closure has become a significant local issue.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those sympathetic to the villagers argue that when an entire community's access to shops, schools, a GP surgery and its pub is cut off, the human cost of delay should outweigh administrative caution, and that the responsible bodies have a duty to treat this as an emergency rather than let it drift through ordinary channels. On this view, residents should not be left to absorb an eight-mile detour and lost trade simply because two organisations cannot agree who pays, and interim fixes or an accelerated funding settlement, with liability sorted out afterwards, would be the fairer course.
The case against
Those sympathetic to the Canal and River Trust and the council argue that establishing exactly who caused the damage, whether a leaking water pipe, diverted motorway traffic, or both, is a necessary step before public money is committed, since acting hastily could leave one body unfairly liable for costs it did not cause. They would also point out that a historic Telford-built bridge with damaged supporting columns demands careful structural assessment rather than rushed repairs, since a botched or premature fix could endanger public safety or the fabric of a listed structure, even if that caution is painful for residents in the short term.