Arch lowered in new bridge plans

The bridge height has been lowered from 23.5m to 17.7m (77ft to 58ft)

A lower bridge arch and changes to road designs are part of revised plans for a long-awaited river crossing between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton.

Surrey County Council said it was putting together a new Walton Bridge planning application after the government rejected previous proposals.

The bridge's arch has been lowered by 5.8m (19ft) in the new designs, to make it "less prominent on the skyline".

Two "temporary" bridges currently cross the Thames at Walton and Shepperton.

The current road bridge was opened to traffic in 1999, while another crossing used by pedestrians and cyclists dates back 54 years.

A permanent link has been under discussion for the past 20 years.

The latest designs have been approved by the county council's executive.

The revised plans also involve a Thames Path under the new bridge

A "clover-leaf" road design at Cowey Sale - which would have allowed access to and from the bridge for vehicles on both sides of Walton Lane - has been replaced with a priority T-junction.

There had been concerns that the original plan would have taken up too much land.

The arch design and height also came in for criticism from the Walton Bridge Campaign, but that has now been addressed.

Councillor Chris Sadler, who represents the Walton Central ward on Elmbridge Borough Council, said: "We have to wait for the detailed designs but from what I've seen I would hope we have something we can work with."

Mr Salder criticised the length of time and the amount of money the county council had spent on trying to establish a permanent Walton Bridge.

But he added: "They've gone a long way to addressing the design issues, so let's get on with it now."

The county council said a planning application would be submitted in July with a round of public consultation taking place at the same time.