Delays over repairs to Melton town centre bridge

The Lady Wilton Bridge, which carries traffic over the River Eye on the A607 Leicester Road, suffered structural damage when a large agricultural trailer containing sheep turned over on to its side.

The grade two listed bridge has been patched up make it safe but is currently unsafe for boats to pass under it.

Leicestershire County Council confirmed the bridge was damaged by the road collision.

A spokeswoman for County Hall told the Melton Times: “We have repair works planned with a projected start time of May 2025.

"There has been some delay due to the bridge being listed, meaning that we need to use specialist techniques, etc, and that some approvals will take longer to clear.”

The delayed repair work on the bridge will impact the boat hire service operated by the Melton and Oakham Waterways Society (MOWS).

Its volunteers had hoped to begin hiring out rowing boats to the public at Easter but as they normally pass under the Lady Wilton Bridge a temporary alternative route may be needed on the River Eye.

MOWS chair, Sharon Brown, commented: “We wanted to start the boats in April but due to health and safety issues with the bridge we might not be able to.

"We also hoped to have the boats up and running for the 1940s event in May.

"The committee will be discussing this and it could be that the boats will have to go over past the swimming baths for now until the bridge is safe again.”