Historic ‘Donkey Bridge’ closed due to flood damage

Shropshire Council has had to close the ‘Donkey Bridge’ in New England, west of Highley.

The bridge has been declared unsafe to use, and has now been officially closed for a period of six months due to the central pier of the bridge being badly damaged by debris carried by recent floods (October 2012).

The historic bridge crosses the Borle Brook, and carries a public bridleway which connects to Billingsley, Kinlet and Stottesdon to the west, and to the New England Heritage site.  The bridge is a two-arched stone and brick structure of some antiquity and was used as a packhorse route, leading to the name ‘Donkey Bridge’. 

Access to the New England Heritage site is still possible from Highley. 

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for active and healthy lifestyles, said:

“We pride ourselves in Shropshire that we have many wonderful historic bridges.  This is a very unfortunate situation that ‘Donkey Bridge’ has had to be closed, but is it severely damaged from flooding so I would urge people to keep off the structure for their own safety.  Rails have been put across the bridge to stop further use.”

Shropshire Council is looking at the options to preserve and protect this structure if this will be possible.  Its design and location make repair difficult, as does the extent of the damage. 

Local Shropshire Councillors Mary Nicholls and Madge Shineton stressed the importance of keeping such historical artefacts as reminders of the very different lives which the community led not all those many years ago.