Open and shut case for level crossing

RAIL chiefs have said a threatened pedestrian level crossing in Branston is to remain open for the foreseeable future but may still close one day.

The news emerged at the latest meeting of Branston Parish Council, when members said Staffordshire County Council and Network Rail had determined the Warren Lane crossing's fate during talks last week.

Network Rail communications officer Keith Lumley has since confirmed the deal, telling the Mail that although his company would eventually like to close the crossing, it would remain open for the forseeable future.

The outcome has come to light a month after Network Rail announced that it would give the crossing a temporary stay of execution.

Residents living close to the walkway, which links Warren Lane to Old Road, had previously expressed fury after Network Rail erected signs saying the link would close on St Valentine's Day a deadline later extended to Sunday, February 28 because the route was not an official public right of way.

Opponents of the closure said many people had used the crossing for more than 20 years the minimum legal requirement for it to become an official footpath and that closing it would force them to use a 'dangerous' footbridge or cross a busy road.

However, after initial talks with the county council, Network Rail said it would keep the crossing open 'for the time being'.

The company said that it had a policy of closing pedestrian level crossings to improve safety and would continue to have regular talks with the council, while examining the possibility of diverting the crossing so it could be permanently closed at some point in the future.

Now, though, the parish council has received an assurance that, following further discussions between Network Rail and the county council, the walkway will remain open for the forseeable future.

Although satisfied with the outcome, parish councillors said the move had rendered the possibility of redeveloping the footbridge over Burton Road a 'double-edged sword'.

Plans to redevelop the footbridge had previously been mooted after it was suggested that it was 'narrow and dangerous'. The condition of the footbridge was brought into sharper focus after it emerged that the Warren Lane crossing may close.