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Village still cut in half two months after storm

Sophie Madden
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC Paul Herbert, who has short grey hair, stands infront of yellow and red road signs which read "road closed at Bronygarth Bridge no access" and "road closed" He is wearing a black coat and black t-shirt with a green collar. BBC
Paul Herbert said the community of Bronygarth needed the road reopened soon

A community says it has been cut in half after Storm Bert damaged a bridge and closed the only road through a village.

The storm struck Shropshire in November but more than two months on, the road in Bronygarth, near Oswestry, remains closed, and residents said there were no signs of repairs starting.

It means the people living on one side of the village have to travel along a six mile (9.7km) diversion into Wales if they want to get to the opposite side.

Shropshire Council said due to the complexity of the bridge, more investigations were needed before they could start repair work.

Paul Herbert Large amounts of floodwater are seen pouring over the road in Bronygarth and over the side of the bridge. The road and bridge are not visible due to the water but some green shrubbery can be seen on the other side. Paul Herbert
Heavy rainfall and melting snow caused huge amounts of water to pour over the bridge instead of of through a culvert under it

The road is closed to both motorists and pedestrians.

Weston Rhyn parish councillor Paul Herbert said it was causing huge disruption and they felt the town had been forgotten.

"It has been really quite difficult to get out and about," he said.

"The focus seems to be on more populated areas at the moment.

"But if we don't shout about it, nothing will get done."

Simon Greaves, who has long white hair, stands in front of a metal barrier which is closing the road in Bronygarth. He is wearing a black coat with blue collar, a red scarf and green fleece.
Simon Greaves said the closure meant he was separated from his brother who lives on the other side of the village

Simon Greaves, who has lived in the village for many years, added: "Families are divided.

"I've got a brother who lives on the other side of this closed road and he's not able to walk at the moment.

"So if he want to come and see me he has to get into his car and drive four miles...it is crazy."

A man with short, light brown hair, swept to one side, and light stubble, stands by a pile of earth in front of a house with several windows amid white walls. He wears a grey hoodie under a black coat.
Simon Pierpoint said the flooding was "pretty devastating" for his holiday let

To get to the bridge, the flood waters travelled downhill from a brook and through a leisure complex and property belonging to Simon Pierpoint and his wife Jeanette.

They were in Gran Canaria when he heard water had reached the house which was being used as a holiday let.

"I was talking to the people at the time and I was reassuring them the water wouldn't come into the house as it hadn't for the 30 plus years we had been living here," he said

"It was famous last words because actually it was pretty devastating."

While dealing with insurance for his own repairs, he is letting walkers use his land, which borders the closed road, so they can avoid the diversion.

One.Network A map shows the diversion which is in place during the Bronygarth road closure. A red dotted line indicates where the road is closed, while a blue dotted line shows the diversion route, which goes into Wales. One.Network
The six-mile diversion route to get between the two sides of the village crosses the border into Wales

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council apologised for the inconvenience.

"Due to the restricted access and complexity of the bridge, specialist access equipment is now required to complete our final investigations into the current condition of the structure," they added.

"We have instructed our engineering consultants WSP to prepare a suitable design solution."

But Mr Herbert said the town needed the work done urgently.

"Everyone's a bit down in the dumps about it," he said

"I think it would give everybody a lift if we could get it opened as soon as possible."

The side of a bridge showing damage to the side of it, with rubble piled at the bottom. There are leaves and branches against the side of the bridge which is made of grey stone.
The heavy rain combined with melting snow and poured over the side of this bridge, damaging the supporting wall on one side

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