Campaigners fear the roads agency is pushing ahead with plans to destroy or fill with concrete more than a dozen Victorian bridges in England and Scotland despite a government pause after an outcry over “cultural vandalism”. When National Highways poured 1,000 tonnes of concrete and aggregate under a bridge at Great Musgrave in Cumbria, there was a backlash that forced ministers to halt the programme in July. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that despite the pause, the agency has spent tens of thousands of pounds on the sites for the infill or demolition of 14 bridges from Kent to East Lothian. The agency says the work is part of routine maintenance but campaigners say it has the hallmarks of preparing for filling in or demolition. In one email concerning plans to demolish a former railway bridge near Bridport in Dorset, a National Highways civil engineer said the agency was continuing to work on the scheme. In the email, sent in August to Dorset council, the engineer said: “The government has halted all demolition and infill works for an indefinite period,” and added: “We are proceeding with all of background works as if it [the demolition] were continuing.” Demolition would scupper plans to reopen the Maiden Newton to Bridport branch rail line as a heritage attraction. The HRE Group, an alliance of engineers and sustainable transport advocates campaigning to reuse the historical railway network, obtained the documents. Graeme Bickerdike, a member of the group, said: “The awarding of these contracts demonstrates a clear direction of travel and undermines the ministers’ intervention. The so-called pause is just a smoke and mirrors.” A spokesperson for National Highways said its previous plans to demolish nine historical bridges and fill in a further 69 remained on pause. She said: “We cannot risk a delay to any safety critical work so we must be ready to proceed with any agreed work once the pause is lifted.” Hélène Rossiter, the head of its historical railways estate programme, said: “We have continued with vegetation and ecology work on a number of structures. This is good practice and will keep structures safe. This work will be required irrespective of any decisions regarding the future of these structures.” The documents show that between 21 September and 25 October the agency spent £192,000 on works around 13 of the 69 bridges earmarked for filling in before the pause and one of the nine bridges set for demolition. The work includes clearing vegetation around a bridge near Winchester that if filled in would block a planned 27-mile walking route; more than £55,000 of drainage works on two Gloucestershire bridges that are part of a proposed cycle route; filling cracks on a bridge in Barcombe, East Sussex, to stop bats roosting in the bridge’s brickwork; tree felling on the former Hull and Barnsley railway line at Little Smeaton, North Yorkshire; and drainage works at an ornate cast-iron bridge near Wakefield. Bickerdike said such work was inconsistent with routine maintenance. He said: “You don’t fell mature trees 15 metres from a bridge if you’re not intending to infill it and form embankments. You don’t spend tens of thousands of pounds on drainage work under a bridge unless you intend to carry out a bigger scheme. And you don’t block up cracks to prevent bats roosting in a structure unless you intend to undertake works imminently.” He pointed out that National Highways spent £14,000 on works to the bridge at Barcombe after it awarded a £246,000 contract to fill in the bridge. He said the demolition or blocking of Victorian bridges ran counter to the government’s strategy to promote walking and cycling in part by encouraging the use of disused railway lines. The strategy set out in July in a document called Gear Change acknowledged: “There has been concern about the fate of a small proportion of the 3,250 railway structures managed by Highways England [since renamed National Highways].” It promised to review plans if there was a realistic prospect of disused lines being used for walking, cycle routes or heritage railway lines, and to consult local people. It added: “Until then, any infilling or demolition on these structures will be paused unless there is an immediate need to act on grounds of public safety.” Meanwhile, National Highways is preparing to submit retrospective planning permission for filling in the bridge at Great Musgrave after it was decried as “cultural vandalism” during a debate in the House of Lords. If planning is refused, the concrete will have to be removed.