New wooden and metal bridge over the River Nene at Thorpe Meadows in Peterborough.

New Thorpe Meadows Bridge

The new bridge over the River Nene at Thorpe Meadows was installed at the end of 2023 thanks to a combination of funds from Peterborough City Council, Nene Park Trust and generous donations from Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund and FCC Communities Foundation.

Previously, Thorpe Meadows Bridge, colloquially known as the Red Bridge, spanned an inlet from the River Nene to the rowing lake on the edge of Thorpe Meadows. The bridge was sited on a footpath that follows a picturesque riverside route from the City Centre to the western edge of Peterborough and beyond. The bridge was also an entry point to Boardwalks Nature Reserve directly adjacent to our land.

After 38 years in place, the bridge was deemed unsafe in 2021 due to rotten wooden beams and was closed, before being removed in early 2022. Since then there has been no crossing point of the river in this location.

This funded project installed a new 20m steel and timber footbridge where Thorpe Meadows Red Bridge once stood. The new bridge has a lifespan of 50-100 years, helping to build the resilience of this area of Nene Park. It is 1.2m wide to allow for mobility scooters and other walking aids and has reopened a popular walking route to Nene Park and the Boardwalks Nature Reserve from the city centre. It has also provided a foot/cycle entry point to Thorpe Meadows Gateway, allowing pedestrians/cyclists to avoid having to use a busy main road.

Reopening the bridge has helped encourage more people, in particular from more deprived areas of Peterborough who cannot drive, to visit Thorpe Meadows under their own steam to enjoy the outdoors and accrue the related health and wellbeing benefits.

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