17 hours ago
Tonnes of love locks to be removed from bridge
Tonnes of love locks to be removed from bridge
Hundreds of locks are set to be removed as they have gotten too heavy
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service )
Three tonnes of padlocks attached to a footbridge in the city centre of Bristol are due to be removed. The "love locks" are put on Pero's Bridge by couples as a romantic way of symbolising their attachment, with the keys often thrown into the water below.
Bristol City Council is concerned that the locks, estimated to weigh three tonnes, have become too heavy. They will be taken off the bridge at some point in the next few weeks, before the upcoming Harbour Festival on July 18–20, and potentially placed on a structure nearby.
Until the removal, the council will not lift the bridge for boats to pass through, due to the weight of the locks. An update on the removal plan was given to councillors on the harbour committee on Tuesday, June 24.
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service )
Patsy Mellor, director of management of place, said: "We have got a 'no lift' notice on Pero's Bridge due to the weight of the locks. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
"It's three tonnes, the estimated weight of the locks. The team is working on a solution where we can place the locks in a nearby structure of some sort. They have to be removed before the Harbour Festival, so it'll happen quite quickly."
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Pero's Bridge links Queen Square and Millennium Square, and was named after Pero Jones who was enslaved and lived in Bristol in the 18th century. The pedestrian bridge was opened in 1999.
In 2023 a campaign was launched to remove the locks, which jar with the name commemorating a slave.
A decade ago the council removed most of the padlocks from the bridge, but people attached new ones and the bridge was again covered within a few years.
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The practice of attaching a padlock to a bridge is common in many cities across the world, despite the corrosion the metal can cause and harm to aquatic life from throwing metal keys into the river.
Other cities have also removed padlocks from bridges and tried to prevent the practice, like in Dublin on the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey, for example.
