NOT SO TEMPORARY! BRADING STATION FOOTBRIDGE TO REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL NOVEMBER

Planning permission is once again being sought to retain a ‘temporary’ footbridge at Brading Train Station, which was installed over 3 years ago. As previously reported by Island Echo, a scheme to repair a 160-year-old Grade II listed footbridge at the station got underway in March 2021 with a temporary alternative footbridge erected. The Isle of Wight Council approved the temporary structure on the condition it would be removed within 12 months of its erection, with plans for the temporary bridge to only actually be needed for 6 months. However, by April 2022 the footbridge still wasn’t ready for use after problems with its footings caused lengthy delays. Then, in December of that year, Network Rail put forward an application to keep the temporary structure for even longer – a further 12 months until December 2023. They gave written assurances that they believed work would be completed within the 12-month period. But the saga rolls on with permission now being sought, once again, to retain the temporary footbridge until 31st October 2024. Back in February, the local authority granted permission for changes to the plans for the historic footbridge as those put forward in March 2021 did not provide enough strength, with additional cross bracing and reinforcement of concrete pad foundations needed. Despite having had the green light for the revised plans for 3 months already, work is not expected to be completed until the end of October due to the ‘limited availability of line blockades’. This is said to be a ‘worst case scenario’. Delays have been partially blamed on the transition to a new ‘Control Period’ – the 5-year timespans into which Network Rail works for financial and other planning purposes – which has impacted the delivery. By the time the temporary structure is removed in October – assuming it is actually removed by 1st November – it will have been in place for 3-and-a-half years.