Heritage Railway

Bluebell Railway supports battle to save Barcombe bridge from being infilled

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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.

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