THE Friends of Alton Station (FAS) campaign to save the station’s historic footbridge looks set to go into overdrive, with a determination to “fight on”, after it was revealed that Network Rail is recommending demolition.

Viewed as an integral part of the railway station’s Victorian facade, key to its attraction for visitors to the Mid Hants Railway (MHR) heritage steam line, and part of the town’s history, the footbridge was closed in August last year after a Network Rail (NR) inspection found it to be “less structurally sound than expected.”

At the time no decision had been made concerning the long term future of the bridge, but the closure fuelled fears that the cost of repairs to the footbridge may be greater than anticipated.

And, having just received a copy of an internal NR letter recommending the removal of the bridge, it appears FAS was right to be concerned.

According to FAS the footbridge was erected in around 1892 by the London and South Western Railway. Its wooden structure was originally built as an open bridge with balustraded and lattice-work sides, but by 1895 it had been enclosed, following successful lobbying by the ladies of the town. It is believed to be the only surviving example of its kind in the region.

But it came under threat following the erection in October 2013 of a new £1.7m bridge with lifts, that now provides step-free access to platforms two and three.

While welcoming this investment, it is a bold, utilitarian structure, standing some distance away from the forecourt, and is completely out-of-keeping with the rest of the station.

The project to save, repair and restore the original 1892 footbridge was kick-started by FAS in February 2014. Having negotiated with Network Rail, a commitment was made to retain and repair the bridge but, after work started in July 2015, it was found to be so unsafe that it had to be closed.

Says FAS chair, Stephen Lewis: “Looking at the bridge today, it is held up on one side by scaffolding and public access is blocked, so main line passengers and visitors to the MHR Watercress Line are forced to walk the length of the platform each side to use the new bridge. “

Since the closure FAS has continued to pursue NR over its intentions: "We have been regularly asking Network Rail for updates, but it wasn’t until last week that we got some tangible news. We were forwarded a copy of an internal Network Rail letter recommending the removal of the bridge over restoration, stating the much larger cost as the reason.”

In describing the letter as “a real blow” Mr Lewis stressed that this was not a final decision but a recommendation by Network Rail, and one which FAS is hoping to reverse.

It appears, however, that while the intention (of NR) had been to repair and redecorate the bridge to extend its serviceable life for at least another three to four years, to enable FAS to try and organise longer term funding to maintain the structure, the level of decay has been found to be greater than initial visual examinations originally revealed, raising safety issues, and this, combined with a number of associated engineering implications, has seen as escalation in the cost of retaining and re-structuring, now expected to be in excess of £500k.

By contrast, the removal and making good process would be less than half.

There appears to be no suggestion from NR however of making safe and, while not for use, retaining the structure purely for its visual effect.

In acknowledging that many stations across the country have been provided with new footbridges with lifts as part of a national scheme to make stations compliant with the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), Mr Lewis said that while Alton is benefitting from the new bridge, it also wants to keep its historic counterpart: "Whilst it has become clear that quite a lot of the wood in the old bridge will need replacement, we believe that it is an important part of railway history and Alton’s fabric that deserves preserving. It is a challenge to carry out such a project on a structure located over a public railway so, as ever, we will have to patiently negotiate and explore all the options.

“We believe however that it still has a practical use in situ and is part of the ambience for those travelling on the Mid Hants Watercress Line.

“To this end, we will shortly be meeting with a representative of Network Rail to see if we can negotiate a way forward.”

But, he added: “If the final decision by NR is to remove the bridge, we are determined to fight on, exploring ways to finance the restoration to keep the bridge in situ. Be assured, the battle is not yet lost.”