Historic railway footbridge at Beverley Station to close due to safety fears

Network Rail claimed it “urgently” needs to close the Victorian footbridge at Beverley Station because of its rotting wooden canopy and a rise in antisocial behaviour.

It comes after councillors in July approved the removal of its “unique” canopy, despite objections from Beverley Town Council, Beverley Civic Society, local residents, national amenity societies and others.

Network Rail said the closure was needed to “remove the risk of pieces of the weakened canopy falling onto the tracks”.

The canopy will be removed and the original cast iron bridge, which went up around 1884, will be refurbished next year. Matt Rice, North & East Route Director for Network Rail said: “I know how important this footbridge is to the heritage of Beverley station and how well-loved it is by passengers. That’s why we want to see it eventually refurbished and, crucially, made safe for pe ople to use and trains to pass beneath.

“Closing the footbridge as soon as we can is the safest option, and it needs to happen. I’m sorry to anybody who is upset or inconvenienced by our decision.”

However Dick Lidwell from Beverley Civic Society said it was a “disaster” and fears the canopy will end up “in the bin”. For the time being anyone wanting to cross the tracks will have to use the level crossing.

He said: “Network Rail and Northern Rail have failed to maintain the bridge over the years. The Society and heritage preservation people around the country are also cross East Riding Council gave permission for it to be demolished. The only reason why is because they have failed to look after it.”

The canopy was offered to the North Yorks Moors Railway and the National Railway Museum but both declined.