Council cash keeps rail pedestrian crossing open

A pedestrian crossing over a railway, previously branded one of the most dangerous in the country, is to remain open.

Since 2012, residents have campaigned to keep the ground-level crossing at Wareham station despite Network Rail's plan to close it.

Dorset Council has been paying £120,000 to staff manually operated gates to stop people crossing in front of trains.

In a joint statement, Dorset Council, Vikki Slade MP and Network Rail said the arrangement would remain in place "for the long term".

There has been a long-running dispute over the pedestrian level crossing at the station which provides the only step-free access across the line.

In 2010, manually operated gates were installed after CCTV revealed people were ignoring red lights and crossing in front of approaching trains.

A Network Rail planning application to install ramps up to the existing footbridge and remove the level crossing was refused in 2018.

At a meeting on Monday, Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland, Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Vikki Slade and Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail, agreed the current arrangement should continue.

Mr Ireland said funding to staff the gates would continue for as long as he leads the council.

The existing lease for the crossing - which was set to expire in 2038 - would also be replaced with a rolling agreement, they said.

Mr Goodall said: "The safety of people using the crossing has always been our primary concern, and the commitment from Dorset Council to continue funding the staffing costs will ensure that we can maintain the same high level of safety we have today."

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