Highways England closed the M5 overnight on Saturday between Junction 13 and Junction 14 to enable the dismantling and removal of the well-used and well-worn motorway structure.

View timelapse footage of the bridge removal.

The footbridge spanning the southbound and northbound areas of the services had reached the end of its life and was closed to pedestrians in 2018.

A 70-strong team were involved in the cutting, dismantling and lifting of the bridge, with a 750-tonne crane positioned on the northbound carriageway to lift and lower the 69-tonne footbridge and two 130-foot cranes to manoeuvre the structure for cutting and removal.

The 60-metre bridge may no longer span the M5 but the metal and concrete, including the ramps and pillars, will now be recycled for future use.

Highways England took the opportunity to carry out other essential maintenance work during the overnight closure, and Project Manager Adrian Simon said:

It was a massive operation for our principal contractor Carnell, we understood the closure would have an effect on journey times and we appreciate people’s co-operation and patience during the work.

We carried out additional work between junctions 13 and 14 to minimise disruption, the removal operation was carried out safely and discussions are ongoing regarding building a replacement footbridge.

As is the case with a lot of our replacement and renewal schemes, another positive will see the materials recycled and put to good use elsewhere.

The scheme experienced some delays, including computer issues with one of the 130-tonne cranes, unseen issues detaching the main span from the piers and additional cutting of the bridge deck.

Mr Simon added:

Due to the complex nature of the operation, we did reopen the M5 a little later than scheduled, and again, we’d like to thank drivers using the diversion routes for their patience.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

From 31 January 2020, anyone requiring local land charges (LLC) searches in the local authority area of Peterborough City Council will need to get them from HM Land Registry rather than going directly to the council.

Karina Singh, Director of Transformation at HM Land Registry, said:

Migrating Peterborough to our national LLC Register is a significant milestone for us as it’s the largest number of paper records that we’ve digitised so far. This will make life easier for property buyers across the area, providing round the clock online access to the information they need.

Michelle Abbott, senior lawyer for Peterborough City Council, said: 

We are proud to be the eighth local authority in the country to transfer its land charges data to HM Land Registry’s digital service. Speeding up the property-buying process benefits ourselves, our residents and our businesses. Improving the quality and ease of access to over 30,000 local land charges will improve the experience of buying and selling properties in the Peterborough area.

Local land charges describe restrictions on the use of a property such as planning permissions or listed buildings and are usually required in the property-buying process. A local land charges search will reveal whether a property is subject to a charge, which then informs a buyer’s decision to buy that property or land.

HM Land Registry is working in partnership with local authorities in England to migrate their local land charges data to a central, digital register. Once migrated, anyone will be able to get instant online search results using the Search for local land charges service.

HM Land Registry’s business customers can use their existing portal and Business Gateway channels or their usual search providers to access local land charges data for those local authorities which have migrated.

Customers will need to continue to submit CON29 enquiries to the local authority.

For an overview of the service, watch our short video.

For more information, read about the Local Land Charges Programme.

We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus. The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus.

The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and we are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread.

We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately. We are continuing to work closely with the World Health Organization and the international community as the outbreak in China develops to ensure we are ready for all eventualities.

Published 31 January 2020

At 0945 (local time), a civilian aircraft chartered by the Foreign Office carrying 83 British and 27 foreign nationals left Wuhan for the UK. The charter flight is estimated to land at RAF Brize Norton at 1300 (UK time).

A small number of medics were on the aircraft to provide support to passengers. The flight will continue on to Spain following the stopover in the UK, at which point EU nationals’ home countries will take responsibility for them.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

It’s welcome news that our evacuation flight has now left Wuhan.

We know how distressing the situation has been for those waiting to leave. We have been working round the clock to clear the way for a safe departure. The welfare of those trapped and public safety have been our overriding priorities.

Published 31 January 2020

The British High Commission in Fiji welcomes the Fijian government’s formal acceptance of the EU notification regarding International Agreements, as shared in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement. This provides an important platform for continuity within bilateral and multilateral agreements, and for citizens and businesses on both sides. At the end of the transition period, the UK and Fiji will bring into force a UK-Pacific Islands EPA which will ensure the continuity of trade between Fiji and the UK.

[https://mitt.gov.fj/publications-resources/press-release/reassurance-on-continuity-following-the-united-kingdoms-exit-from-the-european-union/]https://mitt.gov.fj/publications-resources/press-release/reassurance-on-continuity-following-the-united-kingdoms-exit-from-the-european-union/

Published 31 January 2020