Dangerous railway footbridge due to be dismantled and temporarily replaced

The footbridge at South Bank Railway Station, which is the responsibility of Redcar and Cleveland Council, was put out of action in October last year after an inspection by engineers.

Planning documents lodged with the council – as the local planning authority – show a determination is being sought as to whether the demolition works require ‘prior approval’.

The application by the council states they will be carried out by Network Rail and its contractors with a temporary footbridge due to be erected until a previously mooted redevelopment of the station takes place and a permanent solution found.

It said: “Due to inspections and structural assessment by an external consultant for Redcar and Cleveland Council, the footbridge has been found to have significant defects and be unsafe for continued use.

“The footbridge needs to be demolished to remove the remaining risk to the railway.

“The proposed method is to crane out the footbridge during a night time/weekend possession of the railway lines and dismantle the footbridge on the access track adjacent to the railway.

“The steel trestle towers and staircases will also be locally dismantled by the contractor.”

The 42 metre long structure had when in use provided pedestrian access to platform two serving eastbound services to Redcar and Saltburn – which have been no longer calling at the station with a Northern Rail replacement bus running instead – also connecting to Smith’s Dock Road and Normanby Road via its staircases.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Design work is being carried out on a new temporary footbridge, which station visitors will be able to use.

“Work to dismantle the current bridge is set to begin in the coming weeks, after which the new structure will be installed, with the project set to be completed by the end of August.”

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) previously earmarked investment in the station to provide a new car park, park and ride facility, a new widened platform and a fully accessible footbridge so disabled passengers could use it.

However the project has only remained in the development phase with the required overall funding not fully confirmed and still subject to review by the Government, along with a host of other Department for Transport-funded schemes.

In March TVCA’s head of transport Alan Weston told a meeting the wider redevelopment remained the ambition, but it was a “two to three year” project and “intense” efforts were more immediately being made to provide a temporary solution in terms of the footbridge.

Speaking at the same meeting, Councillor Carl Quartermain, the cabinet member for highways and transport at Redcar and Cleveland Council, said the “bridge there, for want of a better word, is knackered”.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen previously described South Bank station as “cut off, tired and simply not good enough” and it has been deemed a “top priority” for improvements especially given its proximity to the nearby Teesworks industrial site.