Bath MP Presents Parliamentary Petition for Permanent Weight Limit on Cleveland Bridge

14 December 2020

Last week Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, presented a petition to the House of Commons that was signed by 1,290 Bath residents.

The petition asked that the current weight limit on Cleveland Bridge be made permanent, even after repairs on the bridge are completed in 2021.

Bath’s MP has been campaigning fiercely for this change, having led a debate in the House of Commons last month on this issue and having written several times to the relevant Ministers. The campaign will continue into the new year with a meeting planned between Ms Hobhouse and Baroness Veer, the Under-Secretary of State for Transport.

Wera Hobhouse said:

“I am determined to be able to show Government exactly how important this campaign is to people in Bath. What we are asking for is quite simple - that Bath Council have control over its own decision-making processes and can implement any weight limit required to protect the heritage of our infrastructure.

I am looking forward to meeting with Baroness Veer, in the new year, to discuss the implications of this proposed change. If Cleveland Bridge is forced to reopen to 40 tonnes vehicles next year it will simply take more damage and sooner, rather than later, it will need to be repaired again.”