Stepnell has completed a £4.2m bridge connecting Long Eaton town centre with West Park in Derbyshire, creating a wider route for pedestrians and cyclists over the Erewash Canal.
Designed by Gagarin Studio, the bridge features vertical galvanised steel fins arranged in a pattern inspired by the wedding lace historically produced at Harrington Mills, within the Long Eaton Lace Factories Conservation Area.
The project was delivered through the £25m Long Eaton Town Deal regeneration programme and funded from its £5.7m walking and cycling package. Stepnell directly managed the civil engineering, substructure foundations, heavy lifting logistics and public realm landscaping.
Bridge improves access and surveillance
The structure replaces a narrow footbridge with a shared deck for walking and cycling, alongside a wider ramp to improve accessibility. New steps connect the bridge to the towpath, while increased headroom removes a long-standing pinch point on National Cycle Network Route 6.
Stepnell has also created a waterside terrace with concrete seat steps, inset accoya timber bench tops, a launch deck and resin-bonded gravel paths. The removal of the former bridge’s dark undercrofts is intended to improve natural surveillance around the space.
The bridge incorporates 124 tonnes of curved steel and was constructed beside a busy towpath and a flowing canal. Stepnell said severe flooding during the works also affected West Park’s flood storage reservoir. A trial assembly carried out off site helped the contractor plan the installation and limit disruption; the towpath reopened in June.
“The bridge connecting Long Eaton town centre with West Park needed upgrading into a functional piece of high-quality engineering to support the town centre’s long-term growth plans,” said Tom Sewell, director at Stepnell.
“The environment made the project quite complex, with 124 tonnes of curved steel over a flowing canal, operating next to a high footfall towpath and coordinating the project during a period that included severe flood events that impacted West Park’s flood storage reservoir.”
Flood and ecological mitigation
Stepnell coordinated flood risk and ecological mitigation with the Canal and River Trust and the Environment Agency. To replace displaced water storage, it created a new flood storage scrape in the neighbouring Fox Covert Local Nature Reserve.
An ecological clerk of works oversaw protection measures for water voles and wetland habitat during construction. The project design was developed with Erewash Borough Council, the Town Deal Board, Friends of West Park, Long Eaton Victoria Angling Society and East Midlands water-safety charity Blue Tonic.