PLANS to build a new bridge and refurbish an old bridge have been given a £4 million council boost as part of its latest budget.

The money has been put aside by Worcestershire County Council to be used for the much-needed refurbishment of Sabina Bridge across the River Severn in Worcester as well as for a new bridge between Gheluvelt Park and the old Kepax landfill site.

The funds are part of the county council’s capital spending for the next three years which would see around £26 million spent on projects.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, leader of Worcestershire County Council, said: "These capital investments are essential for us to continue to support Worcestershire's growing economy.

“By investing into the county's infrastructure we will help to attract more businesses and build more homes which will help us to grow the council's income.

"The budget that we are proposing will invest £26 million into these schemes over the next three years, while at the same time providing significant revenue investments into adult social care and into improving the lives of the county's children and young people."

No specific details have been announced by the county council for the Sabrina Bridge refurbishment but it is due to take place this year.

The city council is currently working on a feasibility study for the Gheluvelt Park bridge plan which is due to be discussed by councillors in the next few months.

It announced in July it planned to build the multi-million pound footbridge across the River Severn but further survey work would be required before full plans were developed.

The council said it would be a design very similar to the Diglis Bridge that opened in 2010.

It was decided by the council’s policy and resources committee that the money to pay for a range of surveys would be drawn from a £150,000 lump earmarked from the city council’s City Plan pot in February 2017.

A further £500,000 from the same City Plan funds was sanctioned in March to partly pay for the bridge and act as a signal by the authority of its intention to build it.

More funding would be required from elsewhere to cover the estimated total cost of £4.2 million.