CAMPAIGNERS HIT OUT AT ALTON FOOTBRIDGE ‘DEMOLITION’

Campaigners have voiced their anger after part of Alton station’s footbridge was demolished instead of being saved for preservation.

The Friends of Alton Station say that they are seeking financial recompense from Network Rail following the removal of the disused bridge in March (SR503). Although the main span of the structure was handed over to the group and moved to a storage site pending restoration, its timber staircases were completely demolished.

Shaun Wood of the group said: “We are trying to recoup some or even all of Network Rail’s charges for the ‘safe removal of the bridge’. We knew that a number of timbers would need replacing; now we have to replace the whole lot and have no other pieces to use as templates, making our job much harder and much more costly.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Due to the severe rotten and unsafe condition of the staircases, we were always clear that it would not be possible to retain these. It was agreed between the two parties that salvageable pieces of the staircases would be kept and, during the work over the weekend of March 7/8, these were set aside for the group as arranged. Sadly, many of the rotten timbers were not salvageable.”