AN artist's impression of the planned new Eastham Bridge has received a mixed reception.

Worcestershire County Council have promised that the new bridge will be completed by the spring of 2017.

However, it will be the same specification as the one built in a different age back in 1793.

Celia Adams who farms in Eastham and lives next to the bridge has been asking villagers for their opinions and the responses have been mixed.

But the general view seems to be relief that a new bridge will be in place to put an end to the need for lengthy and costly diversions.

She says that if a larger bridge had been planned this would have resulted in major delays because of the need for planning permission and a new environmental assessment.

Worcestershire County Council says that it has been working closely with specialist contractors and partners at the Environment Agency, Historic England, Natural England and Malvern Hills District Council to deliver the best outcomes for local residents while causing the least amount of disruption to the surrounding environment.

"We are aware of the importance of this bridge on the lives and livelihoods of people in the area,” said Councillor Marcus Hart, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for highways.

“By releasing these artist's impressions of how the new bridge could look, I hope that residents will be reassured about our commitment to replacing the bridge and bringing normality back to the village of Eastham.

He said it is not possible to copy the old bridge but that some features have been retained.

“The new bridge isn't a like-for-like replacement for the old, listed bridge, but it does include some of the original elements of the old bridge,” Marcus Hart added.

“Most importantly it will get people moving across the river as quickly as possible and remove the need for the detour currently in place."

The area around Eastham Bridge is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Any temporary bridge, erected close to the site of the original bridge, would have required a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

This would have taken months to complete before any construction work could get underway. However, with the arrangement that has been decided upon, preliminary work on the new bridge has started.

“But, the new bridge will lead to a new crossing being built on the same site as the old one, effectively bringing forward the permanent bridge and avoiding the need for any extra delay,” he added.

"Even though work has started and local people can see what the new bridge might look like, we hope they will understand that there is still a lot of work to do.

“Over the next few months, we will be bringing large pieces of equipment on to the site and we ask local people for their continued patience while the work is being done.

"With any project of this nature we often have to deal with unknown challenges, not to mention the British weather. As we have been doing, we will continue to keep local people fully informed about progress and when we expect them to have their bridge back again."

It is anticipated that the bridge will be operational by April next year.