A RECREATIONAL area is set to be created on Tadcaster’s riverbank as a legacy of the multi-million pound project to re-build the bridge.

North Yorkshire County Council says it will shortly be applying for planning permission for seating and recreational facilities on the River Wharfe’s west side, including seats and information boards which will tell the bridge’s history.

David Bowe, corporate director for business and environmental services, said: “We believe this would be a fitting legacy and tribute to Tadcaster and the resilience of its community during this difficult year.

“We will also be applying shortly for planning permission for street lighting on the bridge.”

The authority is completing works in the river bed and on the banks following the bridge rebuilding, following its partial collapse after severe flooding in late 2015.

Contractors have been tidying up bridge stone work, removing temporary supports and a temporary footbridge, and metal sheet piles - used to create a dry dock so that contractors could strengthen the bridge’s foundations- are being cut down to just below the natural river bed level, where they will protect the bridge and bed against future scouring.

A spokesman said that by the end of May, the council will have restored the bed to its former level, filling in scour holes and removing stones and debris that built up, and it hoped to have fully completed the works within a month.