A city centre footbridge will be closed to pedestrians to enable work to begin on the demolition phase of Our City, Our River (OCOR), Derby’s multi-million pound river flood defence project.
The swing footbridge to Cathedral Green will be taken off river on Tuesday 12 August, and will remain closed while works are carried out on the left (east) bank of the River Derwent.
Pedestrian access across the river during this time will be by Exeter Bridge on Derwent Street, or St Mary’s Bridge.
This phase of OCOR, known as Derby Riverside, will see the construction of a new flood wall, floodgates, and a riverside green area that will provide a controlled corridor for flood waters to pass through the city. It will provide significant flood resilience to properties and highways between Exeter Bridge and Causey Bridge.
Several office buildings on Stuart Street and Phoenix Street will be removed to make way for the green space and new flood wall, with demolition work starting on Peat House in mid-August. Piling works will also be carried out near the swing bridge during this phase of construction.
These works will be carried out by John Sisk & Son on behalf of Derby City Council, who were formally awarded the contract for the scheme in May 2025.
While the swing bridge is off river, Derby City Council will be carrying out a full inspection with a view to programming essential maintenance and refurbishment work. The bridge will remain closed while flood defence works are carried out in the area and is expected to reopen in Winter 2026.
Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, said:
Work is really starting in earnest on the Derby Riverside phase of Our City, Our River, which has already delivered enhanced flood protection to over 2,000 properties. This next stage will deliver greater flood protection to areas of the city that were badly affected by Storm Babet in 2023, when the river reached its highest level since records began 90 years ago.
As with all major construction works, there will be disruption, and we’re working with our contractor to keep this to a minimum and ensure the works proceed safely and as quickly as possible. This means we have to take the swing bridge off river for the safety of the public while they are in progress. The benefits of the new flood defence wall and riverside space for water will make it worthwhile in the long run.
The Our City, Our River programme is one of the Environment Agency’s largest local authority-led projects and has already delivered enhanced flood protection to over 2000 properties. Derby Riverside will extend this protection to the east bank of the Derwent and unlock the potential for regeneration in this part of the city.