Bluebell Railway supports battle to save Barcombe bridge from being infilled
THE Bluebell Railway has added its support to campaigners fighting National Highways over its latest controversial plan to infill a longredundant railway bridge.
Designed by civil engineer Frederick Banister, the bridge in Church Road, Barcombe, was built in the early 1880s as part of a line connecting Lewes and East
Grinstead, the northern 11 miles of which are occupied by the heritage line.
The structure carries a narrow minor road and is assessed as having a capacity of 24 tonnes. Its brick parapets and wingwalls have been subject to movement for many years, with cracks recorded as long ago as 1994.
National Highways has proposed infilling the bridge with about 1000 tons of aggregate and concrete, using Permitted Development powers which leaves objectors without a voice.
While the Bluebell Railway has no plans to extend south from Sheffield Park – the restoration of the Ardingly branch from Horsted Keynes is more likely – it said that “the remaining trackbed is a potentially valuable transport corridor which should be safeguarded.”
Objectors also claim that not only would infilling the bridge mean the loss of a heritage asset within the village conservation area, but it would also be detrimental to an adjacent woodland habitat.