Elvington village residents cut off by closure of Sutton Bridge (From York Press)

Elvington village residents cut off by closure of Sutton Bridge

9:41am Wednesday 27th January 2010

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MARJORIE Penrose is warming herself by the fire in the St Vincent’s Arms in Sutton upon Derwent, before braving a drive to the doctor’s surgery in Elvington.

She has prescriptions to collect and is overdue her flu jab. From her home it takes a couple of minutes to get to Elvington – or it did until the bridge closed.

Now the quickest route Marjorie can take is the 1079 to Kexby and then it’s the winding road to Elvington. It will her take half an hour.

Marjorie, 83, said: “There is such a lot of traffic on the Hull Road. It’s very frustrating with the bridge being closed. I’ve had to cancel my inoculation twice due to the snow and now the bridge is closed.

“I can’t get to the shop and have to go to Wilberfoss if I want a paper. That involves crossing the main road which can be difficult, especially during the rush-hour. I feel sorry for the commuters who have to take the diversion every day and it must be even worse for those who live in Melbourne, Bielby and Seaton Ross.”

Marjorie once worked behind the bar at the St Vincent Arms. Today, Christine Hobwood is serving – or she would be if there were any customers.

The bridge closure has already had a big impact on passing trade, but Christine still manages a smile. “We’ve been here 20 years now and we’ll survive,” she said. “We have a lot of loyal customers and evening bookings haven’t been down too much. “But it is the lunchtime trade that has been hit worst. A lot of our customers are business people from the industrial estates in Elvington, but they only get an hour for lunch; it would take that long just to get here and back at the moment.”

It is a short stroll from the pub to Sutton Bridge, past the road closed signs and the church which stands like an island overlooking the flooded river plains below.

A dip in the road is under water; there will still be problems when the bridge eventually opens.

Sturdy barriers at the foot of the bridge and a cage along the carriage way have been installed because motorists were ignoring the signs.

Up close it looks a bit of a mess. There is a gaping hole by the passing place and further along, the wall has been damaged down to the keystones. One section has been shunted along by more than a foot. It must have been hit with some force.

The bridge has been closed since early January, when it was badly damaged in a suspected traffic accident.

Originally, East Riding of Yorkshire Council said the bridge was unlikely to reopen this side of Easter. Traders in particular greeted the news with dismay and the battle now rages like the torrent flowing under the arches.

On Sunday, engineers from the council met with villagers from both sides of the bridge in a bid to smooth the waters. Originally, the council said repair work was held up for the want of the right stone because the bridge is a listed building.

But residents were not convinced and demanded a rethink. Their war of words seemed rewarded at the meeting, where they were assured that work will begin today. It should take no more than a fortnight and will then reopen to light traffic.

But many remain sceptical. This week, in Elvington, local businessmen held an emergency session to keep the pressure on.

Tom Fitzpatrick, who runs the village stores, said: “I’ll wait and see if it really does reopen soon. People here are getting fed up with the extra travelling. It is hard enough getting on to the A1079, but there are accidents on that road every month. What will happen when the next one closes it? With the bridge closed where will people go then?

“My trade is down 50 per cent at the moment. Elderly customers in Sutton and Newton are going elsewhere now and once they have gone it’s hard to get them back. If this does go on until Easter we will have to shut down.”

Ian Plant is the managing director of Formula Exhibitions on the nearby industrial estate. Many of his staff commute from villages to the east of Sutton Bridge and every day spend an extra hour driving to and from work.

He said: “As we understand it the council does not need planning permission. Last year they applied to English Heritage for work to strengthen the bridge. That work was approved and closure was to be by agreement with the parish councils.

“Then we had the accident and the council closed the bridge with no consultation at all. We get the impression that they don’t consider businesses, so a number of us have got together and we will push the council to do what they have promised, and start work soon.”

Christopher and Wendy Bundy live in the aptly named Bridge Cottage. They have lived in Elvington for 30 years and are used to seeing their garden under water; it’s a price they pay for living in an idyllic location next to the river. But for them, the bridge closure is an inconvenience too far.

Wendy said: “The bridge closure is very difficult, but although the work needs to be done, it is important to get it right. If it was built from 1920s brick then a temporary repair might be acceptable, but this work need to be done with the right materials. “I just wish that the bureaucratic process could be speeded up because it’s causing real problems here. Half of the business at the garage and village store comes from passing trade and at the moment there isn’t any.

“The shop is really struggling. We lost our post office some years ago and ironically the nearest one is in Sutton upon Derwent. Unless you can walk to it you can’t get there, we really can’t afford to lose the shop.”

Christopher said: “Sutton Bridge is a funnel for surrounding villages. There are three bridges across the Derwent and all are bottlenecks. If, as now, one of them is closed, the other routes have to cope with a third more traffic.

“The bridge was closed about ten years ago when a lorry hit the side wall and that is the real problem. This is a beautiful 18th century bridge and was built to take horses and carts. Lorries either cut too close or too wide, and then they hit the wall. The real solution here is a weight and size restriction.”

But that is not going to help Don Malcolm. He is a welder at Geoff Stubbins ornamental ironwork, which adjoins the bridge. At the moment Don drives in from his home in Pocklington, parks on the Sutton side and walks across the bridge to work.

He said: “If they put a permanent weight restriction it will have an impact on us because our suppliers won’t be able to get across. We also do repairs on sweeping lorries and at the moment they have to come in via Kexby which is causing a problem.

“I know some people don’t appreciate trucks using this road, but for us it is essential.”

A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: “Work to temporarily repair Sutton Bridge will start on Wednesday, January 27. The work should take around two weeks to complete if further defects are not found once damaged stone is removed.

“Once the work is complete the bridge will be able to reopen, however, for safety reasons a weight limit, width restriction and reduced speed limit will be introduced at the bridge.

“Efforts will be made to include pedestrian access, although this may be limited when certain activities are carried out. The temporary safety measures will be in place while consultations are carried out on an agreed scheme and timescale for the bridge repairs.

“Signage is being updated to explain that businesses and facilities are open.”

At the moment this is a bridge over troubled waters. Now it looks as though business may soon return to normal for local traders and commuters. Until then the maelstrom of discontent will continue as locals wage war with the councils in a desperate attempt to protect their livelihoods. • Humberside Police would like anybody with information about who might have hit the bridge to phone them on 0845 6060 222

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