Oxford bridge has planned repairs and lighting after ASB

Littlemore Bridge, which was built in the 1950s, has visible cracks and missing chunks of concrete, and is a known site of anti-social behaviour.

Oxfordshire County Council said that repairs to the concrete on bridge were scheduled for early 2025, and that repairs to the concrete on Littlemore Bridge were added to the work programme in August 2023.

Littlemore Parish Council said it agreed that lighting under the Bridge was needed at the end of last year, which was followed by discussions over funding, who would be responsible for it and what specific type of lighting was needed.

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A statement issued by the council said: “Littlemore Parish Council is committed to working with the city and county council to tackle anti-social behaviour and ensure public safety and well-being in Littlemore.

“Ordinarily, street lighting would not be a parish council responsibility.

“However, in this case the parish council, recognising the need for it locally, resolved to collaborate with the city and county councils and councillors to source the funding necessary."

(Image: Contributed) The council added that the funding was successfully secured by county councillor Trish Elphinstone and deputy lord mayor Tiago Corais from the city council, and that the project would go ahead under their guidance.

Councillor David Henwood, who has been campaigning since 2015 for the bridge to be repaired, said the planned repairs and addition of street lighting were “essential to the bridge”

He said: “People feel very unsafe walking under it, especially in the dark.

“We do get antisocial behaviour in that area, and we have CCTV to help reduce that amount of anti-social behaviour.

“[Littlemore] feels neglected for most of the year, and it’s very rare funding gets sent our way.

“As local councillors we are trying to turn that narrative back to Littlemore, which has not happened in the past, not on the scale it deserves.”

(Image: Contributed) He added that more traffic had been pushed onto the bypass, causing more pressure on the bridge, but the county council deny that any dramatic changes in traffic would have made the condition of the bridge worse.

When approached for comment, a county council spokesperson said: “The bridge is not currently unsafe and the condition is not unusual for the structure of this type and age.

“The planned repair work is pro-active and aimed at preventing deterioration of the bridge, which would require more costly intervention in the future.

“This has led to these repairs now being scheduled for early 2025. Not all repairs can be completed as soon as they are identified.

“There have been no recent dramatic changes in increased traffic under the bridge, but this would not have made its condition worse.”

He added that the prioritisation of bridge repairs is reviewed across a large stock of bridges across the whole county and is reviewed on a regular basis.

Ms Elphinstone and Mr Corais have been contacted for comment.