Network Rail apology over Plumpton level crossing closure

The signal box and crossing gates at Plumpton Green are Grade II-listed

Network Rail has written to the residents of a village in East Sussex apologising for disruption caused by the closure of a level crossing.

The Grade II-listed manually-operated barriers in Plumpton have been closed on safety grounds, with villagers facing a six- or seven-mile detour.

Engineers are concerned about the safety of the barriers after the local council rejected plans to upgrade them.

Network Rail said it was currently doing a risk assessment on the site.

More than 600 people have signed a petition to get the historic crossing in Plumpton Green reopened.

The barriers at the Plumpton level crossing are operated from the signal box

Network Rail had sought planning permission to upgrade the crossing in June. It closed the road in preparation on 25 September, effectively splitting the village in half.

However, five days later Lewes District Council rejected the plans and said replacing the listed gates would cause "substantial harm to the significance of the signal box".

Network Rail had planned to reopen the level crossing on 12 October and had already carried out other work to upgrade the signalling, meaning the original level crossing could not be immediately reopened for safety reasons.

It said replacing the barriers would improve safety at the crossing by 63%.

The road at the level crossing has been closed since 25 September, effectively splitting the village in half

Steve Knight, area director for Network Rail, said: "We cannot stand idly by and allow an outdated, high-risk crossing to remain in use when we know we can make it much safer."

He admitted that Network Rail had been "wrong to assume" that planning permission would be granted and should not have started work until consent had been given.

"The re-signalling work we have done at the site of the level crossing means the road cannot be reopened immediately," Mr Knight said.

He added that the risk assessment would identify what measures needed to be put in place to safely reopen the crossing and the road as soon as possible.