Council loses battle over railway crossing closure

The level crossing in Carr Lane, near Worlaby, provided access to the River Ancholme

North Lincolnshire Council has lost its bid to reopen a railway level crossing which it claims is a public right of way.

Network Rail closed the Worlaby crossing in 2018, blocking local access to the Ancholme Valley Way, a riverside path between South Ferriby and Brigg.

The council challenged the move, but a public inquiry found there was insufficient evidence to support the existence of a right of way, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Council leader Rob Waltham called it “a disastrous decision" for residents and tourism.

“We do not agree with the conclusion presented by the inspector and we think Network Rail has acted irresponsibly in banning pedestrians from using this route," said Mr Waltham, a ward councillor.

He had supported a "long-held local view" that access to the river from Carr Lane, which the railway crosses, had been "well documented for decades".

However, following a six-day inquiry, a planning inspector found that while there was “some evidence" for this view, it was “not of sufficient weight" to prove the case.

Mr Waltham said he would now be working with MP Martin Vickers to seek "an urgent meeting" with Network Rail to discuss restoring access to the river path.

'High risk'

A spokesperson for Network Rail welcomed the decision of the inquiry and said "safety of the public, passengers, and train crew" was the "top priority".

"This is a very busy stretch of railway line with frequent passenger and freight services and we demonstrated at the inquiry why this level crossing carries such a high risk to public users," the spokesperson added.

“We previously offered to work with local stakeholders to find an alternative route for pedestrians to the River Ancholme, but this was not taken up.”

In a separate decision, Network Rail won an application seeking partial costs from the council, after claiming the inquiry had been extended by more than seven hours because of a dispute involving a witness for the authority, LDRS reported.

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