Moray Council has no money available to look at options to reinstate a road bridge seen as a vital link for communities.
Cloddach bridge near Birnie to the south of Elgin has been closed to motor vehicles since February 2022.
However it can be used by pedestrians and cyclists.
Members of the economic development and infrastructure committee were asked to make a decision on the future of the bridge this week.
‘Where’s the £30k coming from?’
That decision was deferred from September last year so discussions could be held with community groups.
All councillors agreed to keep the span open to walkers and cyclists, but not to reopen it to cars and vans.
Inspections on the safety of the bridge will continue.
SNP concillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde Shona Morrison put forward a motion to spend £30,370 looking at potential options to open the span to vehicles up to three tonnes.
Ms Morrison said there was a “real plea” from residents for the council to support their efforts to find external funding for improvements.
However members voted by eight to five against that.
Independent councillor for Heldon and Laich John Cowe said: “Where’s the £30,000 coming from?”
Committee chairman Marc Macrae gave a verbal commitment to continue to explore other funding sources for the bridge that did not impact on officer time.
However his amendment to not spend any council money on it was passed.
Also, if the bridge is deemed to be unsafe it will be closed and demolished.
That would cost £333,500.
Moray Council has to find £28 million over the next two years to balance the budget.
Closure of the bridge has caused difficulties for residents.
These include increased journey times for pupils going to school in Elgin, and those travelling to and from work.
£3m needed to replace Cloddach bridge
There are also fears it will cause problems for police, ambulance and fire services getting to emergency situations, and increase traffic congestion in Elgin.
It would take almost £3 million to replace the bridge.
Repairing it so it is suitable for cars and lorries would be around £2.34 million.
Reopening the span to vehicles would bring an economic benefit of £74,000 a year to the area.
The bridge is seen as low priority for repair as the maximum diversion for people getting to Elgin from Birnie is six miles.
Also the road is not designated as a critical route as there were fewer then 7,000 vehicle movements on it a day.
The condition of Cloddach bridge has deteriorated over the last two decades.
In 2001 a 7.5 tonne weight restriction was applied. That was lowered to three tonnes in 2019.
A two metre height restriction was put in about 18 months ago to stop non-compliant vehicles from crossing the bridge.
But it was repeatedly hit by drivers in the months before it was closed to motorists.
Conversation