'No money' for Temple Bridge repairs and problems are 'worse than first reported'

Problems at a key River Thames footbridge are ‘worse than originally reported’ and a claim funding is available for repairs was ‘misleading’, a meeting has heard.

Temple Bridge – which straddles the Thames between Marlow and Hurley - is set to have its central section removed after Environment Agency (EA) surveyors found more issues.  

After being closed for more than a year over safety fears, hopes had been raised that a fix could be on the horizon following a media report that suggested EA funding was set aside.

However, a Local Access Forum (LAF) meeting in Maidenhead Town Hall last night heard that while survey work had finished, there was no budget yet for repairs.

Royal Borough council officer Jacqui Wheeler said, ‘there was a misleading article recently which quoted old estimates which gave hope to various people that things are moving along.’

“The latest update is that there is no costing at present, but the actual survey work has been undertaken now - even despite all the delays - it’s actually happened now.”

“The initial results have shown an increasing amount of degradation in the bridge’s structural elements than was originally reported.”

Last month, the agency warned that the central river channel under Temple Bridge would be blocked off - and advised boaters to use the two side channels.

A spokesperson told the Advertiser: “As part of our ongoing work, we are carefully removing the central section of the bridge, both to ensure there is no risk to river users beneath it and to allow further examination of it.”  

No date has been given for when work could start.

The spokesperson did confirm the agency hoped to preserve Temple Bridge as it was, though an ‘affordable option’ for repairs was a ‘complex task’.

Environment Agency surveyors closed the bridge in May 2023 after finding it suffered with structural faults and had ‘deteriorated faster than expected’.  

Frustrations have since boiled over at disruption caused by the closure which has seen Thames Path walkers diverted onto a ‘dangerous’ 60pmh country road.

A perceived lack of communication and the lengthy time for a fix for Temple Bridge has also seen the EA come under fire.

Ian Ient from Berkshire Ramblers said at last night’s LAF meeting: “Surely the Environment Agency must have some sort of plan.

“It says here [in LAF meeting papers] they will come back with a response once they’ve completed their investigation, which I suppose is fair enough.

“But when are they going to complete that investigation, have they even got a date for that?

“It's unacceptable.”

Ms Wheeler replied: “It’s taking a long time for anything to progress with it, but that is the latest we’ve heard - that’s a mid-November update.”

Once a ‘full report’ from the bridge surveys had been formed, Ms Weaver said, EA could then ‘progress the refurbishment options’.

She added this would include asking local authorities to pitch in with money through a partnership funding scheme.