The Heritage Lottery Fund has given initial support to Newport City Council, which is seeking the funds needed to repair the historic Newport Transporter Bridge.
Spanning the River Usk, the bridge and its gondola – which dates back to 1906 – are in need of essential repair work, the South Wales Argus reports.
Development funding of £1,052,800 has so far been awarded to the scheme. In addition to the repairs themselves, funding is also being sought to increase the size of the visitor centre here and improve the facilities for visitors at the site.
Councillor Debbie Harvey, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, told the newspaper that they were very pleased to receive support to help assure the structure’s future.
“The bridge has dominated our skyline for more than 100 years and it is great to know we are a step closer to preserving it for another century,” she stated.
Newport Transporter Bridge is one of only five remaining operational transporter bridges in the world and is the most complete of these remaining structures, making it a historical landmark that is well worth protecting.
The public can visit the bridge between March and October, and last year more than 20,000 people from all over the world paid a visit to the historic bridge.
Last month, Wales Online shared an artist’s impression of the proposed new visitor centre, which would look out over the river. However, the council needs to raise £10 million to make this a reality.
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