Updated at 12noon Tuesday 23 December
Preliminary works have now been completed to the bank on the Old Lane side of the river at Darley Abbey Mills bridge.
The temporary footbridge, known as Walter’s Walkway, was closed on safety grounds by Derby City Council on Friday 12 December after erosion was discovered in the bank on the Old Lane side of the river.
Work began on Friday 19 December to pack the riverbank with around 500 tonnes (metric tons) of rock to stabilise it, and prevent further erosion while investigations continue.
This work was completed and the area cleaned up and re-fenced by the end of Monday 22 December. However, the ramp to the walkway will not be reinstated and the bridge will remain closed for the foreseeable future for safety reasons, including over the Christmas and New Year period.
We encourage customers to continue supporting the businesses in the village and at Darley Abbey Mills, which can be accessed via Haslams Lane.
Investigations will start again in the New Year to assess the level of risk to the foundations of both the old bridge and temporary walkway, potentially caused by water movements that have been identified below the surface of the river.
Derby City Council will be working closely with the Environment Agency and its partners to find a way forward.
The Environment Agency has updated its flood alert advice to take into account that access across the footbridge will not be possible during a flood event.
We would encourage all residents and businesses in the flood-risk area to sign up to the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Service. The service is free and provides alerts and warnings to enable people to take action, protecting themselves and their property from potential flooding. This can be done by visiting the GOV.UK website or calling the Floodline on 0345 988 11 88.
Updated at 2:40pm Thursday 18 December
Work will start today on preparing the land next to Darley Abbey Mills footbridge for preliminary repair activity.
The temporary footbridge, known as Walter’s Walkway, was closed on safety grounds by Derby City Council on Friday 12 December after erosion was discovered in the bank on the Old Lane side of the river.
Scaffolding on the ramp and the ramp itself will be dismantled today to allow contractors safe access to the river channel. On Friday and Saturday, the area near the bridge will then be reinforced with rocks to help stabilise the riverbank and reduce further erosion. Derby City Council has commissioned works to stabilise the riverbank urgently, before the supply chain and availability of materials becomes limited over the Christmas and New Year period.
These works are required as a riverbed survey carried out this week found that the cause of the problem is below the water level, where it appears the river has been carving out a new, deeper channel on the riverbed. This water movement risks undermining the foundations of both the old bridge and the temporary footbridge, which poses a real risk to the stability of the whole structure. The complexity of the new water movements needs to be assessed by specialists before any solution can be considered. Derby City Council will be working closely with the Environment Agency and its partners over the coming months to agree the best way forward.
Unfortunately, this means that the bridge will be closed over the holiday period and beyond. This remains a live situation where decisions have been taken with the information we have. We fully appreciate the continuing impact this will have on residents, and especially businesses. However, following analysis of the data from the investigations on Tuesday, we know that public safety must come first and this is the right decision.
The businesses at Darley Abbey Mills and Darley Abbey village remain open as usual, and can be accessed via Haslams Lane. We encourage customers to continue to support them.
The Environment Agency has updated its flood alert advice to take into account that access across the footbridge will not be possible during a flood event.
We would encourage all residents and businesses in the flood-risk area to sign up to the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Service. The service is free and provides alerts and warnings to enable people to take action, protecting themselves and their property from potential flooding. This can be done by visiting the GOV.UK website or calling the Floodline on 0345 988 11 88.
Updated at 6:30pm Monday 15 December
Following the closure of access to Darley Abbey Mills footbridge, known as Walter’s Walkway, on Friday, more detailed investigations have taken place on site today.
There are indications that erosion has progressed further over the weekend, and evidence that the bank on the Old Lane side of the river has been undercut.
Derby City Council are working closely with the Environment Agency and partners to understand the full extent of the damage. A radio controlled boat will be used to carry out a survey of the area where the erosion has taken place, and the river bed, as it is too risky for people to be working in the water.
We are also investigating the potential impact to utilities which run across the old bridge.
We are working hard to try to stabilise the situation and limit any further deterioration of the embankment, but this depends on us understanding the full impact of the erosion.
The decision was not taken lightly to close the bridge and all agencies involved in this work understand its importance to the community. We will continue to work as quickly as we can to understand what is happening and then find the right solution that we can put in safely. In the meantime the bridge remains closed for everyone's safety.
This is an evolving situation and we will provide a further update later this week.
In the meantime, the Environment Agency’s flood alert advice has been adapted to take into account that there will be no access across the bridge during a flood event.
We would encourage all residents and businesses in the flood-risk area to sign up to the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Service. The service is free and provides alerts and warnings to enable people to take action, protecting themselves and their property from potential flooding. This can be done by visiting the GOV.UK website or calling the Floodline on 0345 988 11 88.
Published at 2pm Friday 12 December
Derby City Council has taken action to close the Darley Abbey temporary footbridge, known as Walter's Walkway, from 2.30pm today for safety reasons.
Erosion to the riverbank has been identified, which could be putting the structure at risk.
Detailed investigations will be carried out with key partners on Monday 15 December, but the bridge will remain closed as a precautionary measure until this has happened and the situation has been reviewed. A further update will be issued on Tuesday.
This is not a decision that we have taken lightly but we believe the safety of people is our priority. Access to businesses at Darley Abbey Mills during the closure will be from Haslams Lane.