Bridge Valley Road to close for three Sundays in a row

Bridge Valley Road will be closed for three Sundays in a row from this weekend.

The steep road off the A4 Portway winds sharply as it cuts through the north face of the Avon Gorge up past Bristol Zoo to the flat expanse of Clifton Down.

The closures - on January 30, February 6 and February 13 - will allow council works to clear scrub from the rock slopes above Bridge Valley Road, according to a report to the statutory committee that manages the Downs.

“The road closures enable the annual cutting back of vegetation on the rock slopes above Bridge Valley Road,” council parks supervisor Ben Skuse wrote in his report to the Downs Committee.

“This allows for rock and structural inspections to take place.

“During this process we can identify any hazardous loose rock or dead trees or branches that can be removed or brought off the slopes safely.”

The committee, made up of seven members of Bristol City Council and seven members of the Society of Merchant Venturers, is due to meet at 2pm in City Hall today.