Council to restore heritage Sussex rail bridge

Campaigners describe Church Road Bridge in Barcombe as a "really special, beautiful intermingling" of railway heritage and wildlife biodiversity

Campaigners say they are "delighted" that a heritage railway bridge in Sussex is to be restored after its ownership was passed to the local council.

Church Road Bridge in Barcombe near Lewes, East Sussex, had been under threat of being infilled with concrete by National Highways, which formerly managed the site.

Campaigners have long maintained that the area is vital to the local ecosystem.

In a statement, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) confirmed it had taken ownership of the site and engineers would be examining it prior to repairs "in due course".

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, Dr Hazel Fell-Rayner from the Historic Railways Estate (HRE) campaign group said: "We’re absolutely delighted that the ownership of the bridge will go to ESCC because they’ve been really determined to prevent any infilling of the bridge and to repair it sympathetically.

"Wildlife has really reclaimed this line and this place happens to be really close to ancient woodland so we’ve got this really special, beautiful intermingling of old railway heritage with really fantastic biodiversity and a really beautiful area."

National Highways' plans to infill the bridge with tonnes of concrete were successfully halted by campaigners in December 2021, but the structure's future had remained uncertain until now.

Campaigners say they are "delighted" that ESCC wants to sympathetically restore the bridge

Designed by civil engineer Frederick Banister, the bridge was built in the early 1880s as part of a line connecting Lewes and East Grinstead.

A similar infilling scheme carried out in Cumbria had to be reversed after the local council ruled planning permission should have been sought first.

In its full statement, ESCC said: "We can confirm we have taken ownership of Church Road Bridge in Barcombe from National Highways.

"The bridge will be inspected by our highway engineers in the coming weeks, and we'll engage with the local community over the plans for the bridge before work to strengthen and sympathetically repair it is carried out in due course."

National Highways said it was "pleased to be able to work closely with the local authorities to find alternative solutions to preserve this bridge".

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