Council demand “significant and speedy support” to help fund repairs to storm damaged B5605 at Newbridge

A section of the B5605 between Newbridge and Cefn Mawr was severely damaged during Storm Christoph in January, when torrential downpours caused part of the footpath to collapse down an embankment.

Wrexham Council say they previously applied for funding from the Welsh Government to fix the road, however the request was knocked back as it did not meet the relevant criteria.

In February we documented how Wrexham Council’s deputy leader and Lead Member Environment and Transport David A Bithell had called for ministers to keep to their ‘promise’ to provide money to cover the costs of damage.

Last week Wrexham.com asked the leadership of Wrexham Council about progress of the Newbridge landslip works, noting it had been over a month since the last public update. We asked if there had been any progress in securing funding for the repairs, and if so when work could commence, or if not where was the hold up for the funds.

Although not a direct reply, Wrexham Council have said they now estimate repair costs of more £1M, noting “without some significant and speedy support the Council will be unable to fund these storm related damages and future proof it from further storm damage”.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said, “This is a vital link connecting the village of Chirk and communities around Pentre through to the communities of Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre.

“It’s also the emergency route used for closures of the strategic A483 Trunk Route, critical for incident management and maintenance on the nearby A483

“We are exploring every avenue we can to secure funding to see these vital works take work as soon as possible and call on all partners involved to help with this to ensure that the road can open before any further damage takes place to make the works even more difficult.”

You can view the damage on the below drone footage: