Regular visitors to Thorpe Meadows will be pleased to know that there will soon be a replacement bridge where the old 'red bridge' used to be, reopening this access across an inlet of the river, following a footpath that follows a picturesque riverside route from the City Centre to the western edge of Peterborough and beyond. 

The old bridge was in place for 38 years but was deemed unsafe in 2021 and removed in early 2022. Since then there has been no crossing point of the river in this location.

We are now in a position to replace this bridge due a combination of funds from Peterborough City Council, Nene Park Trust and generous donations from Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund and FCC Communities Foundation.

The new bridge will be a new 20m long steel and timber footbridge with a lifespan of 50-100 years. It will be 1.2m wide to allow for mobility scooters and other walking aids. The new bridge will reopen a popular walking route to Nene Park and the Boardwalks Nature Reserve from the city centre. It will also provide a foot/cycle entry point to Thorpe Meadows Gateway, allowing pedestrians/cyclists to avoid having to use a busy main road.

We hope that the construction of this new bridge will help encourage more people, in particular from more deprived areas of Peterborough who cannot drive, to visit Thorpe Meadows under their own steam to enjoy the outdoors and feel the related health and wellbeing benefits.

The new bridge works will take place in September-October 2023 with the new bridge expected to be open for use by the end of October.