Pell Frischmann to Lead Environmental Services On Southampton’s Northam Railway Bridge Replacement Scheme

Pell Frischmann is pleased to have been appointed to provide environmental services for Southampton City Council’s (SCC) Northam Railway Bridge Replacement scheme.

The project aims to replace Northam Railway Bridge, a key piece of Southampton’s transport infrastructure that is life expired and acts as a bottleneck on the A3024 — a vital single carriageway route into Southampton’s city centre and Port. The bridge spans the South West Main Line and the Eastern Docks Branch Line, making its upgrade essential for resilience going forward, supporting economic growth and connectivity while carefully managing approvals, legal requirements and logistical challenges.
 

The scheme aims to make improvements to active travel infrastructure, signalling, landscaping, and biodiversity along the bridge approaches and at the junctions of Brinton’s Road and Britannia Road.
 

Currently, an Outline Business Case (OBC) is being prepared by SCC in partnership with Network Rail (NR) and Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) to secure Department for Transport (DfT) funding for the scheme.
 

We are leading on the environmental aspects of the scheme while collaborating with SCC, NR and BBLP to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening. This will involve various assessments, including those focused on landscape, ecology, carbon and climate change, air quality, and flood risk. These efforts will support the feasibility work and ultimately contribute to the OBC.

Fiona Wilson, our Environmental Management and Assessment Technical Director, said:

We are delighted to be assisting Southampton City Council with the Environmental Assessment work and EIA Screening.  Our work will support the Outline Business Case for Northam Railway Bridge enabling SCC to work towards obtaining the necessary funding to deliver this important scheme, which will improve connectivity, resilience, and active travel within Southampton.