STOCKTON Heath swing bridge will be shut for three nights from today, Tuesday.

Signage has been put in place on London Road alerting residents of the upcoming closure.

It will be closed to traffic and pedestrians on November 5, 6 and 7.

This will be from 11pm to 5am.

READ MORE > Deadlock over plans to renovate swing bridge

It comes after £8 million renovation plans of the swing bridge have come to a standstill.

In March 2022, it was announced that Stockton Heath swing bridge, on London Road, was set for a major investment which could see it closed for around nine months.

Plans included work to carry out a complete structural, mechanical, electrical refurbishment and repainting programme to improve the longevity of the key asset.

However, in January 2023, it was revealed that the plans had been delayed following a cash row.

This came shortly after it was reported that the plans looked to be under threat unless Peel agreed to either keep the road running during the work or pay for mitigation costs, which would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Manchester Ship Canal Company (MSCC), which is owned by Peel Ports, said the work had been put on hold due to a refusal of its Temporary Traffic Regulation Order by the council.

In March 2022, the MSCC applied for a nine-month road closure to ensure contractors could carry out the work.

However, the council refused to permit the closure which was scheduled to begin in April 2023.

Without the order, the work cannot be carried out.

The mitigation costs would be used to fund everything from extra bus services needed to get pedestrians across the canal to any compensation bids from businesses affected.

In September 2023, the council said that it is continuing to hold discussions with Peel to seek a resolution and that it is ‘not fair’ that the local taxpayer should be expected to ‘foot the bill’ for the mitigation measures.