A FOOTBRIDGE closed to the public could be reopened after a 15-year-old asked Queen Elizabeth II to intervene.

Halstead’s Hannah Birch wrote a letter to the Queen asking for repair work to be undertaken on Portway Footbridge in Halstead.

Hannah received a reply from both the Queen and bridge owners, the Crown Estate, and learned it could be fixed, if Essex County Council agrees to take over ownership.

She said: “I wrote to the Queen expressing my concerns for the elderly people of Halstead and the fact the bridge had been closed for safety reasons and nobody owned up to responsibility. bviously it was really nice to see that action is going to be taken.

“Everyone in Halstead uses the bridge so it needs to be opened again soon.”

The letter from the Crown Estate, which was written on its behalf by Burges Salmon, explained that handing ownership over to the county council would allow the authority to repair the bridge and reopen it.

The letter read: “In this particular case, I’m sure that you will be pleased to hear that we are working towards a disposal of the property to Essex County Council so they can undertake the necessary repairs in order to reopen the footbridge to the public.

While completion has not yet taken place, I’m hoping that the matter can be concluded within the next few months.”

Portway footbridge, which connects Rosemary Lane with Sainsburys car park, has been closed since 2014 after Essex County Council deemed it unsafe to use.

A petition to have it repaired and reopened was launched last year by elderly residents from Riverside Court, however an ongoing reluctance to repair the bridge has meant the public have had to use alternative routes.

Essex County Council was approached for a comment.