AFTER a three-year wrangle, traffic will once again be rolling across a historic North Yorkshire bridge by the end of the year.

Next week, work will finally start on the rebuilding of Creets Bridge, at Kirby Malzeard, near Ripon.

The bridge dates from 1749 and carries traffic across Kex Beck, but three years ago it was badly damaged by freak floods.

The ancient foundations supporting the bridge were scoured out and part of the stonework was washed away by the raging waters.

A diversion and temporary bridge had to be set up at a cost of £100,000 - but repairs to the original structure were held up because of a wrangle with English Heritage.

Local people, as well as the parish, borough and county councils wanted to see the bridge repaired and widened by two metres, making it more suitable for modern traffic.

However, the conservation group objected to that proposal and insisted that the bridge, a Grade II-listed structure, should be restored to its old state.

The complications of doing that would have added £32,000 to the £440,000 bill for the work and the issue was eventually called in by the regional Government Office.

Earlier this year, planning minister Tom McNulty upheld the locally-held view and dismissed English Heritage's objections.

A schedule of work has now been agreed and work will start on Monday when the bridge will be completely dismantled and then rebuilt.

The new structure will have deep, reinforced concrete foundations protected by sheet piles, which will not be visible in the finished structure, while as much of the stone from the original bridge as possible will be used.

The bridge, which will be almost identical to the old, will be 6.5m wide and capable of accommodating two lanes of traffic.

Peter Sowray, the county's executive member for environmental services, said: "I'm delighted that at long last we can now get on and rebuild this historic bridge in such a way that it will meet the demands of local people for many years to come.

"I'm confident that the new Creets Bridge will be an asset to the village and prove to be less of a hazard to modern traffic than the original."