RESIDENTS of an idyllic riverside setting in Newport say their street has become a “prison” after they were condemned to at least another three years without a working bridge.

Bassaleg Bridge was abruptly closed in August 2021 after Newport City Council found it was unsafe and could collapse under its own weight.

More than two years later it remains closed - and now residents in Forge Mews - which can only be accessed via the bridge - have learned they are not likely to see a replacement ready to go for another three.

Forge Mews residents were gifted shopping trolleys, visitor parking passes and a temporary entry point from the A467, unable to even walk across the bridge until January 2022.

Now, after around £200,000 was spent on consultants, council officers have recommended to cabinet members that the bridge is demolished with a replacement built nearby.

The report estimates costs between £5.6 million and £9 million – funds the council admits it “simply does not have available to commit to this work”.

South Wales Argus: Bassaleg Bridge

A spokesperson has said: “The council will explore all avenues to source the required funding.

“We continue to monitor the condition of the existing bridge, facilitate emergency access to Forge Mews from the A467, pedestrian access over the bridge, and residents’ access to parking spaces on the other side of the River Ebbw.

“The council would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while this work has been ongoing.”

The letter delivered to Forge Mews on Thursday, October 12 – posted through letterboxes without envelopes, residents say – anticipates initial bids to be progressed over the next six months before a design and construction process lasting another three years.

South Wales Argus: Emergency access from A467

Stephen Jarrett, author of the letter and head of infrastructure at NCC, said he hoped the update would reassure residents the council is working towards a “permanent solution”.

‘Prison’

Katharine Kirby, 76, says the two years without a functioning bridge have been “worse than the pandemic”.

“I had to stay in for two years in the pandemic, but at least I could have shop deliveries,” she said. “Now, I don’t want to come back home. I haven’t been out for three days because when I’m inside, I can’t see the bridge.

“It feels like being in prison.”

Lisa Grant, who received the letter on the 11th anniversary of the day she first moved to Forge Mews, questions the time it has taken the council to reach this conclusion, with no solution in sight until April 2027 at the earliest.

“I could be in a box in the sky by then,” she said. “We’re still paying full council tax. Why? We haven’t got the facilities we had before. And why do we have to be locked in? We’re not children."

South Wales Argus: Katharine Kirby and Lisa Grant

Ms Grant even suggested the the army could be drafted in to help, saying: “It doesn’t have to be a two-lane bridge. I’ll even use a zipwire."

Alison Williams, another long-time resident of Forge Mews, suffered an electrical house fire in November 2022 and says one fire engine stopped at the other end of the bridge and another came through the temporary entrance, from the A467.

Ms Williams lost two cats in the fire and wonders whether better road access might have saved her pets and house from further damage.

South Wales Argus: Forge Mews

“They promised they would keep the gate open and it was locked a few weeks later. They promised they would keep us up-to-date and we find things out from the Argus,” she said.

"There is a community spirit here, but it's been hell on Earth. What hope have us little people got?"

A spokesperson for Newport council has said further updates will be provided as soon as they are available.