PLANNED works to Chepstow’s Old Wye Bridge have been delayed yet again because quotes for works were too expensive, Monmouthshire council has said.

In July the council said the bridge would be closed this month to start the works �— but now the start date has been put back to November.

According to the new schedule, works will be completed over five months. They will start on November 24 and the council said it hopes to complete them by March 27 next year. They will be stopped over Christmas for two weeks.

A Monmouthshire council spokesman said: “The prices we received in September for the works exceeded the budget so we revisited the scope of the works.”

Sheila Swift, who lives in Chepstow and uses the bridge on her way to work in Caldicot, said if the bridge was in bad condition, work must be done.

She said: “The council are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. It has got to be kept in a good condition.”

In June the council said structural repairs and painting of the bridge would close it for seven months from July 14. But then they were delayed over cost concerns.

Traders in the town were vocal in their opposition to the closure over the summer saying it would drive business away during peak periods.

The Old Wye Bridge was designed 200 years ago this year, built over 1815 and 1816, and opened in July 1816. Celebrations will be held in 2016 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of it opening for traffic.