Mallison Bridge replacement scrapped as costs soar beyond £1m budget

Devon County Council has confirmed it is cancelling plans to replace Mallison Bridge at Exeter Quay after new engineering estimates pushed the project £700,000 over its £1 million budget.

The decision means the government funding (allocated specifically for active travel improvements) will now be redirected to another scheme elsewhere in Devon. 

The authority said the £1 million Active Travel Fund grant must be spent by March 2027 or risks being lost, and that the Mallison Bridge project could no longer be delivered within that timeframe.

The bridge, once an important connection for pedestrians and cyclists on the popular riverside route, has been closed since 2018 and removed entirely in 2020 due to structural issues. 

A replacement appeared secured last year after Devon County Council, with the support of Exeter City Council, won more than £1 million from Active Travel England.

However, major engineering challenges, including the need to divert a gas main and far higher foundation costs than expected, pushed the project significantly over budget. 

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The council said alternative designs were explored but none were both affordable and compliant with Active Travel England standards. A cheaper “like-for-like” structure would not have qualified for the grant.

A Devon County Council spokesperson confirmed the money will remain earmarked for active travel projects elsewhere in the county, noting that decisions on where it will now be allocated have not yet been made. 

They added that 40 per cent of the £7 million Active Travel England funding awarded to the authority in recent years has already been invested in Exeter schemes.

Those projects include improvements to the E3 quiet route through Heavitree, the ongoing E9 4km quiet route linking the city centre with the east of Exeter, new crossings at Countess Wear, upgrades in Queen Street, the bidirectional cycle lane on Rifford Road, and “green lanes” work in Ide, Alphington and Pinhoe. 

Funding is also committed for Barnfield Road improvements in 2025/26 as part of the final phase of the E9 route.

The decision has sparked criticism across Exeter’s political landscape. Labour’s St David’s candidate Rose Lelliott said residents would be “extremely disappointed” by the withdrawal of funding for what she described as a vital route for active travel and local businesses. 

She said the current diversion via Commercial Road is “unsafe and unsuitable” for the volume of pedestrians and cyclists using it daily.

Exeter City Councillor Matt Vizard said the cancellation was “far from ideal” for a city working to expand walking and cycling in support of its net-zero goals and urged the county council to reconsider the Quay connection.

Green Party councillors also voiced frustration, saying years of planning, design work and investigations had resulted in “nothing”, despite the bridge repeatedly being promised and included in both councils’ active travel plans. 

They raised concerns over rising costs, delays and missed opportunities to secure additional funding earlier in the project.

Devon County Council said the cancellation does not prevent future work to improve active travel around the Quay, adding that options could be explored again when funding becomes available.

The decision marks a reversal from earlier this year, when the Mallison Bridge replacement was described by both councils as an important piece of Exeter’s sustainable transport network, aimed at improving access between the Quay, the Riverside Valley Park cycle route and the wider city.

With the funding now reassigned and no alternative route confirmed, the future of the long-awaited bridge remains uncertain.