Bollinhurst Bridge, Disley, temporary closure

What is closed?

Bollinhurst Bridge, located on Disley Public Footpath No. 19 and Kettleshulme and Lyme Handley Public Footpath No. 60, has been closed to users due to concerns about safety. Although the bridge might appear safe from above, engineers found significant structural deterioration during inspections.

The damage was particularly seen in the arch underneath the structure, which had weakened to the point where it was considered unsafe. This meant that the masonry structure had to be closed. At the same time it was found that the timber bypass structure adjacent was at the end of its serviceable life and also had to be closed for safety reasons.

Current plans

Cheshire East Highways Structures team are leading on repairing the bridge and have appointed specialist heritage engineers. Their proposal is to dismantle the existing stonework, then reconstruct the bridge using as much of the original materials as possible. However, before these main works can begin, preliminary works were needed.

The preliminary activities included the installation of palisade fencing to help prevent access across the bridge to keep the public safe while the temporary closure is in place, and removal of a tree which was a risk to the structure. This work has been completed and the reconstruction works are being scheduled for 2027, subject to the necessary arrangements being finalised.

Alternative routes

During the temporary closure members of the public are asked to use alternative routes. You can see the length of the Public Footpath that is temporarily closed on Disley FP19 and Kettleshulme Lyme Handley FP60 - SOS extension Closure Plan (PDF, 1.3MB), and alternative routes on the Public Map Viewer.

Advisory signage is on site and on the Gritstone Trail noticeboards and webpages, and has been shared through the National Trust’s networks.

We appreciate that the closure of this route is inconvenient for people visiting the Lyme Park and those using local public rights of way and would like to thank residents and visitors for their understanding.