EXCLUSIVE: Network Rail has made a U-turn over the Bridge to Nowhere, as people power – and commonsense – appear to have won the day.
By JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent
An end in sight?: the blocked off eastern end of the Bridge to Nowhere. Network Rail say the bridge will finally open later this year
Network Rail appears to have made a significant U-turn over the Bridge to Nowhere, potentially meaning that hundreds of thousands of train passengers now won’t be forced to take a hike and make U-turns of their own when arriving at East Croydon Station.
In Croydon town centre’s latest shock non-development, Network Rail’s application to alter its planning permission for East Croydon’s Bridge to Nowhere, in which they wanted to drop plans for ticket barriers on the Cherry Orchard Road side, has been withdrawn.
More than 1,200 residents signed a petition last year calling for ticket gates to be provided on the eastern end of the bridge, which has been dangling in mid-air for more than a dozen years – dubbed “The Bridge to Nowhere” by Inside Croydon, a £22million piece of important public infrastructure left incomplete, mostly due to the failures of Croydon Council planners and legal department.
Final work on the bridge, after a very long pause waiting for Menta’s commercial development of flats on Cherry Orchard Road to be finished, was promised to be completed in 2024.
It was only then that Network Rail pleaded poverty, saying that they could not afford to install tickets barriers on the eastern end of the bridge when it opened. The Addiscombe public appeared to be left dangling once again.
In a planning application submitted to Croydon Council last autumn, Network Rail wanted to adjust the original permissions granted more than a decade ago, and instead of having ticket barriers on the eastern end, train passengers from the Addiscombe side of the station entrance would be forced to trek across the entire length of the bridge and tap in at the Dingwall Road end in order to access platforms.
The application went in, and the decision was expected to be made by council planners before Christmas. Since when, silence…
Residents reckoned that there is a cost-neutral solution, of just relocating a redundant ticket barrier from elsewhere on East Croydon Station. “This would create a fully functional entrance for the Addiscombe side, benefiting local residents and businesses without increasing costs for Network Rail.”
They called it a “no brainer”. Which has got to be better than no barrier.
“Local Addiscombe businesses, including historic pubs, restaurants, greengrocers, charity shops, independent cafés and barbers, are all struggling. A meaningful ticketed entrance would help revitalise this area,” residents said last year.
Two sides to the bridge story: Network Rail’s diagram illustrating how half of their bridge has been out-of-bounds to the public for more than 12 years
In the application to Croydon’s planners, submitted last October, referring to their Figure 2 (above), agents for Network Rail wrote: “In the future, it is planned that the south side of the bridge (outlined in red) will be made open to the public. This will allow pedestrians accessing the platforms to enter the bridge from both the east and west side.
“However, there will not be a paid access (gate line) on the east side and pedestrians will be required to walk along the south side of the bridge and enter the north side and platforms via the gate line. The route pedestrians will be required to take is indicated below in Figure 4 Future pedestrian route to access the station platforms by the green arrow.”
This, referring to Condition 6 of the planning permission, was submitted in all seriousness.
There in black and white (and green): a diagram from Network Rail’s planning application last October, seriously suggesting the trek facing passengers from Addiscombe with no ticket gateline on the eastern side of the Bridge to Nowhere
The dynamoes working in the council planning department finally published the outcome of their deliberations earlier this month.
This included the following: “During the course of this application the applicant has agreed that the details in respect of Condition 6 are removed from this application… The applicant will therefore be required to submit a further application in respect of
Condition 6 at a later time.”
And they added: “To confirm the details in regards to Condition 6 remain outstanding.” Those conditions require ticket barriers.
The rest of Network Rail’s application, for kiosks on the bridge, was approved by Croydon’s planner.
Network Rail has been invited to comment.
Read more: Network Rail can’t afford staff for Bridge to Nowhere ticketing
Read more: Network Rail’s compromise too far over #BridgeToNowhere
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