MAINTENANCE work carried out on the historic Crickhowell Bridge has been described as an 'eyesore' by residents reports GEMMA BALL.

Many local people are not happy with the repair work to the bridge's coping stones and parapet, saying not enough care has been taken by Cadw to find materials that would blend with the existing stone.

One told the Chronicle, "It is a complete shambles. No thought has been given as to what stone to use in order for it to blend in, it is the wrong shape and colour. It makes the bridge an eyesore."

Councillor John Morris shares the concerns of the residents. He said, "I fully support the residents, they are justified to have concerns. Basically Cadw decided to use material that was much lighter coloured than the original stone, but Powys County Council are looking at ways to darken it. It was an expensive project to begin with and this will add more expense."

A public meeting was held at the bridge on Friday with Councillor Morris for residents to air their concerns.

Councillor Morris adds, "Cadw has got it wrong, it is a waste of money. The work was needed to be done but not like this, it is an atrocious colour of stone.

"We put faith in Cadw to looked after our historic buildings and it has failed. It needs to explain to the community why it has done it."

Work was carried out on the Grade 1 listed bridge that links Crickhowell and Llangattock in two phases. The first included scour protection of the bridge and re-pointing of the structure while the second required confirmation from Cadw as to whether work could be carried out.

The second phase also required the bridge to be closed between 9.30am and 3.30pm to ensure that defective coping stones, replacement lighting and repairs to the parapet wall were carried out safely.

 Phase one of maintenance work was completed in October 2010 and cost £42,000 and phase two was estimated to cost £37,000,

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said, "Maintenance work on Crickhowell Bridge has been jointly funded by the council and Cadw, which also authorised the work and materials to be used as the bridge is a Grade-I listed structure.

"The materials used in the recent maintenance work are the same type and texture as the existing stonework. However as it is new material, it has not yet discoloured to match the rest of the bridge.

"We are aware of this and are contacting the contractor to see if they can discolour the new materials to match the existing stonework."

A Cadw spokesperson added, "Cadw has long been concerned about the condition of Crickhowell Bridge, a scheduled ancient monument and a much loved feature of Crickhowell and Llangattock. Collisions from vehicles and vandalism through recent years had resulted in a multitude of repairs often of poor standard of workmanship and poor choice of replacement stone.

"To address this problems Cadw and Powys County Council designed a jointly funded scheme for structural repairs and the replacement of defective and inappropriate copings to match the originals both in dressed profile and stone type.

"As the bridge is built of a very similar stone and stands in a position which is exposed to weather and traffic pollution, both stone copings and pointing are bound to weather to the same patina as adjacent copings and parapet in a very short time.

Cadw, together with Powys County Council, is making arrangements for a public meeting in Crickhowell when Cadw staff can explain the background to the scheme and address concerns."