Jericho boatyard Chinese bridge plan

Film-maker Michael Barnes, 71, made a documentary for Channel 4 in 1999 called China Bridge, focusing on the creation of a timber crossing near Shanghai.

More than 20 years on the bridge, painted red for luck, is still in place and Mr Barnes would like to see the feat repeated as part of the scheme to regenerate the Jericho boatyard area.

Last year the Jericho Wharf Regeneration Company outlined it proposals for work at the Castle Mill Boatyard site – between St Barnabas Church and the Oxford Canal, and a planning application now is expected soon.

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Mr Barnes, who lives near the boatyard with his wife Elisabeth, produced the PBS/ Channel 4 programme about the unique Song Dynasty ‘rainbow bridge’.

The bridge had been portrayed in an ancient scroll, but the original was long gone and the principles behind its construction were a mystery until the recreation bridge was built.

Respected bridge engineer and historian Tang Huan Cheng worked out from the scroll that the bridge was constructed using interwoven wooden beams – similar to the woven canes in a wicker basket.

This resulted in its recreation in 1999 as a sturdy wooden rainbow bridge in the town of Jinze, near Shanghai – with Mr Barnes filming the activity.

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He said: “I would like the bridge to go from the new piazza in front of St Barnabas Church to the other side of the canal.

“The new bridge would be built by volunteers and I think it would definitely bring people to the area – there’s something about it that really captures the imagination.”

The semi-retired film-maker, who is a trustee of the Jericho Community Association, said he was optimistic that the new bridge could be constructed either as part of the planning application, or as a separate community project.

He added that he hoped to meet developers soon and was finalising the costs of the building project.

Mr Barnes said: “I gave a presentation to a group of residents at a My Jericho meeting and there was a lot of support for this.”

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A posting on the Jericho Online website said: “The bridge in the new Jericho Wharf development needs to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

"This could entail either long ramps on either side of the canal or lifts for wheelchairs or buggies. The developer’s most recent plans indicated that they might use lifts.

"However, these seem be unlikely to accommodate the sturdier disability scooters that are now more common than wheelchairs. A possibility is to have two bridges.

"One, at the bottom of Great Clarendon Street, could be an automated ‘at-level’ lift or swing bridge which would be DDA-compliant and take cycles and scooters.

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"The other bridge, leading directly into the square, could take pedestrians and wheeled bikes and have a more interesting form.

"The Song bridge would certainly attract attention from timber frame construction enthusiasts and, possibly, funding - local or international.”