A Renfrewshire Council report going to councillors on Monday still lists Renfrew Bridge as a "moderate" risk, even though the scenario it describes, the bridge being out of action for a long time, has just come true.

The council's mid-year risk report goes to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board on Monday 2 November. It sets out the biggest risks the council is tracking. The swing bridge first appeared on the corporate risk register in May, and in the new report its rating hasn't changed.

What the report says about the bridge

The register describes the crossing as a complex, first-of-its-kind opening road bridge that has to run around the clock, balancing road users, river traffic and community safety. The event it is guarding against is "a prolonged adverse technical, safety or operations incident" that leaves the bridge unavailable.

The possible effects it lists are disruption for road users and shipping, the cost of reactive repairs and claims, rising maintenance and insurance bills, damage to the council's reputation, and a knock-on hit to connectivity, the local economy and investor confidence.

The likelihood and the impact are each scored three out of five, which puts the risk in the "moderate" band. Most of the controls listed, from staff training to the maintenance contract and regular meetings with Peel Ports, are rated as giving "substantial" assurance. The emergency procedures for ships that can't get under the bridge, and the bridge's contingency plans, are rated "reasonable".

The report doesn't mention Storm Boelo. On the Saturday night of the storm, a record tidal surge flooded the bridge's Renfrew-side plant room and badly damaged the electrical systems that operate it. The council has since said the crossing will be closed to road traffic for months while repairs are carried out.

Why it matters now

Renfrewshire Labour has already asked for a special full council meeting on the closure. The group wants to know why the plant room was vulnerable to flooding, and it has asked to see the flood risk assessments drawn up when the bridge was designed. Monday's audit board, which exists to scrutinise how the council manages risk, is likely to be one of the first places councillors can press officers on whether the bridge's rating should go up.

The council's other big risks

Across the council as a whole, the report now tracks 20 long-term or imminent risks, up from 18 in May. Three are rated "very high":

  • tackling health, wellbeing and low-income inequalities
  • a successful cyber attack, which the report calls an ever-present threat
  • the financial sustainability of partners, with the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership forecasting a £4.3 million budget gap this year

Two new risks, both rated "high", have been added since the spring. One covers the Scottish Government's public sector reform plans and the risk that a short, intense engagement period pulls focus from the council's own priorities. The other covers the ethics and safety of the council's move to using more artificial intelligence. On that one, the council stresses that nothing will be introduced without human oversight.

At service level, the council also flags a new high risk in Building Standards, where it says the team is struggling to recruit and keep staff after a decade of significant turnover.

Councillors on the board are being asked to approve the report on Monday. We'll follow what's said about Renfrew Bridge, and any update on when it could reopen.