Newton by Castle Acre man takes Norfolk County Council to court over maintenance of tiny bridge

A tiny bridge in a rural hamlet has become the unlikely focus of a High Court battle between a homeowner and Norfolk County Council.

Mark Zipfel, who lives in a water mill in Newton by Castle Acre, took County Hall's lawyers to the Royal Courts of Justice in London over claims the authority is unlawfully refusing to accept responsibility for maintaining the river crossing.

He bought the mill in 2020 - but has since discovered he is liable for any repairs to the adjacent bridge structure, which is 230 years old, and has found it difficult to get insurance to cover any potential costs.

However, the county council, which is responsible for maintaining the highway which the bridge carries - St James' Road - disputes it should fall under its ownership.

The crossing is one of 53 privately-maintained bridges in Norfolk which have highways running over them.

Mr Zipfel says a growing number of lorries are travelling over it to reach nearby farms, potentially damaging the bridge.

At the recent High Court hearing, Mr Zipfel attempted to use Section 328 of the Highways Act 1980 to persuade the judge that the county council should pay for its maintenance, claiming as it carries a public highway, the bridge itself is a publicly maintainable highway.

It says: "Where a highway passes over a bridge or through a tunnel, that bridge or tunnel is to be taken for the purposes of this Act to be a part of the highway."

Dan Kolinsky KC, who presided over the case, ruled in favour of County Hall, deciding that the Highways Act does not "automatically convert every bridge" that carries a highway into public ownership.

However, Mr Zipfel has signalled he intends to continue fighting and is already exploring different legal avenues to continue pursuing his claim.