New £3.5m footbridge over level crossing at Warblington station gets the go-ahead

Havant Borough Council's approved planning permission to provide safe passage over the railway at Southleigh road.

At peak times the level crossing can be down 30 minutes every hour - halting pedestrians and vehicles.

Council leader Alex Rennie said: ‘Since taking over as leader, I have made delivering this project one of my top priorities.

‘While we still hope that partners will step forward with further funding, we are giving the project the green light by committing to the funding shortfall.

‘The footbridge is desperately needed as the level crossing effectively cuts Warblington and Denvilles in two when it closed.

‘Often pedestrians are stuck for some time and it can mean people are late for appointments, for school or even for the train they are hoping to catch.

‘This leads to a temptation for people to slip between the gates and try to make their way across the tracks.

‘That is extremely dangerous and the new footbridge will make Warblington and Denvilles a safer community.’

Last year the council agreed to foot its share of the bill, then estimated at £1.9m, saying that 450 children at Warblington School lived on the other side of the railway line.

The council has £2.7m available to pay for the project, most of which comes from the community infrastructure levy.

The council has pledged to put forward the remaining cash if other sources of funding cannot be found.

Network Rail has been commissioned to draw up a detailed design of the bridge.