An s-shaped bridge is not the quickest way to cross a river. But that is not the point of McDowell + Benedetti’s gently curving bridge over the Aire, with its stop-a-while benches and plush cruiseliner deck. Because not only has the practice created a new public space where the chatty locals can enjoy Castleford’s only ‘chocolate box’ view, but a slim-line landmark. This modest £4.8 million footbridge has also reopened access to the town’s forgotten waterfront.

Crossing the bridge, with its smooth Brazilian teak (sustainable) handrails, which meanders over the noisy force of the weir has the feel of some Victorian promenade combined with a nature-taming set play. The experience of hanging over broiling waters as you peer through the slats beneath your feet is spoilt only by some shopping trolleys on the neighbouring banks.

Yet for more than a century Castleford purposely shunned the river – once a cauldron of chemical plant and industrial pollutants that often formed into huge mountains of toxic foam which blew in car-size chunks across the town.  Thanks to the Environment Agency, the river is now virtually pollution free and there is even a new fish pass up running up the weir under the northern end of the bridge.