Newcastle's Swing Bridge goes five years without swinging as 2026 anniversary deadline looms
by Daniel Holland · ChronicleLiveTyneside’s famous Swing Bridge has now gone more than five years without being able to swing.
Long-standing worries about the future of the bridge remain, with the mechanism that allows it to rotate open still broken. While hopes remain that the grade II* listed crossing can be repaired and fully operational by the time of its 150th anniversary in 2026, councillors were told on Monday that there had been little progress to report this year.
Newcastle Central and West MP Chi Onwurah mounted a fresh campaign in summer 2023 to restore what is an iconic piece of the North East’s industrial heritage. The Victorian bridge is estimated to have swung open around 300,000 times since its completion in 1876, allowing roughly half a million boats to travel up and down the Tyne.
But it has not done so since November 2019 because of mechanical problems and jammed shut in August 2021 when hundreds of sightseers had gathered on the Quayside to watch it during a maritime festival. At Monday’s meeting of Newcastle and Gateshead’s Joint Bridges Committee, Newcastle Lib Dem councillor Pauline Allen said she was “very concerned that it should be swinging again” and asked if the Port of Tyne had provided any update on its repairs.
Alastair Swan, principal engineer at Newcastle City Council, replied: “No. They have been investigating a means of repairing the mechanism but have not reported back on that.
"We had a couple of meetings earlier this year and they are still going through the process of what they can do and how they can do it. There is an aspiration to do it in time for the anniversary in 2026. I will write to them again and ask for a formal response.”
Ms Onwurah told the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Tuesday that the efforts to fix the bridge were “highly complex”. The Labour MP received offers of help “from Newcastle to New York” last year after her call to find the financial backing and engineering expertise needed to return the William Armstrong-designed bridge to a functional state.
She said: "The Swing Bridge is an iconic feature of our city and a testament to our industrial heritage and yet it hasn't swung in five years. We need to make sure the bridge is swinging again in time for its 150th anniversary in 2026. I've brought together a world-class team of engineers to get the bridge swinging again, but the situation is highly complex.
"We know what is structurally needed to complete the restoration, but we need funding opportunities to get it done. The Port of Tyne are responsible for the bridge's upkeep and I urge them to work with our team to take a solution forward."
Port of Tyne officials warned on Tuesday, as they had in 2023, that a solution to the Swing Bridge’s woes “will not be found quickly”. A spokesperson for the port said: “Over recent years, the Port has undertaken a thorough review of the highly complex engineering requirements of this historic piece of local infrastructure.
"These unique challenges mean that sadly a solution will not be found quickly. We are working with key stakeholders - including Newcastle City Council, NECA, Gateshead Council and the National Trust - to ensure the future maintenance and operation of the Swing Bridge is secured for the people of Newcastle and Gateshead.”
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