The infilling of a railway bridge in north Cumbria with concrete has stirred discontent among heritage groups.

Contractors engaged by Highways England moved onto a site at Great Musgrave, near Warcop in Eden District, on Monday May 24 to start infilling the 159-year-old bridge.

The infilling of the bridge was planned because the it was deemed unsafe.

Member of The HRE Group, Graeme Bickerdike, said: "It is an act of vandalism.

"It is denying the Eden Valley and Stainmore Railways the opportunity of creating an 11-mile tourist route, which would bring people into the area and benefit the local economy.

"We need to be encouraging enterprise that will make best use of our existing infrastructure.

"What happened at Great Musgrave was regrettable, unnecessary and Highways England need to do the right thing and accept that they have got it wrong and put it right.

"Any competent engineer who looked at that bridge would say that, compared to thousands of highway structures up and down the country, Great Musgrave bridge was in very good condition.

"It needed very modest repair work.

"It was absolutely safe and its condition was in no way a threat to any member of the public or anyone driving over it."

Highways England manages the Historical Railways Estate of 3,100 disused structures on the Department for Transport’s behalf.

Highways England Historical Railways Estate Director, Richard Marshall said: "We need to carry out this work for safety reasons.

"The bridge was deteriorating, and no weight restriction was in place, meaning it could be used by vehicles of any weight.

"The support provided by infilling the arch removes the risk of the bridge deck from failing.

"This means a weight limit is no longer required and the bridge will remain safe for everyone who wishes to use it. Our work has preserved the structure.

"The bridge remains intact and supported.

"If land and Eden River crossing issues get resolved, then we would be delighted to work with any rail groups and the local authority to remove the infill at no cost to them.”

An Eden District Council spokesperson said: "The Council is aware that Highways England has now infilled the bridge at Great Musgrave.

"In relation to whether these works require planning permission, it is important to note that Highways England do have permitted development rights to carry out certain works, without the need for the prior grant of planning permission.

"These rights would be covered in Part 9 and Part 19 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.

"Eden District Council’s Planning Service is in dialogue with Highways England to ascertain whether the works do indeed fall within Permitted Development Rights, as they have claimed."

"If these works do not fall within permitted development rights, the Council will liaise with Highways England to set out options for Highways England to comply with relevant Planning legislation, which may require a full planning application to be completed and submitted to the Council.

"This is an ongoing matter and discussions have not yet concluded.”