Lewes council leader Zoe Nicholson has joined the campaign against bridge infilling after a bridge in Church Road, Barcombe came under threat.
Councillor Nicholson said: "The government claimed to have put a stop on this deeply unpopular policy, yet in Barcombe there is clear evidence that Highways England is riding roughshod over any apparent pause in the programme and stealthily pushing ahead using their all-encompassing emergency powers, causing unnecessary destruction to nature and the countryside.
"I have asked the secretary of state to urgently confirm a full and unequivocal cessation of the policy that leaves Highways England in no doubt whatsoever that they must stop and review their approach."
The bridge in Barcombe, East Sussex, was built in the 1880s as part of a railway line between Lewes and East Grinstead. While the railway has not been used for decades, some hope that it could one day be reopened. It is currently a popular route for local walkers and a haven for wildlife that use the disused line as a safe corridor across the countryside in that area.
National Highways, (as Highways England is now called) has plans to bury the Victorian bridge within 1,000 tonnes of aggregate and concrete, using permitted development powers to ride over local opposition.
The Department for Transport suspended the programme earlier this year after an organised campaign, called the HRE Group, blew the whistle on plans to infill 134 structures.
Officially, National Highways says the programme is on hold but campaigners are not yet confident that the battle has been won.
Hazel Fell Rayner, the local campaign organiser in Barcombe, said: 鈥淥ver the past few days, National Highways has made contradictory claims about their plans, but the company鈥檚 actions on site 鈥� including the recent installation of bat exclusion measures 鈥� indicate an intention to go ahead with their preferred infill scheme as soon as they are able.鈥�
Meanwhile, the HRE Group 鈥� an alliance of engineers, sustainable transport advocates and greenway developers 鈥� has accused roads minister Baroness Vere of 鈥榙eceit鈥� after she asserted that there are 鈥渘o current plans鈥� to infill the bridge at Barcombe, responding to a Parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Randerson.
Graeme Bickerdike, a member of the Group, said: 鈥淣ational Highways has identified infill as its preferred asset management option for Barcombe; the design has been completed, bat exclusion measures have been installed on site and approval to start work is awaited.
鈥淭he company has written letters to Lewes District Council, including one that states 鈥榠nfilling the structure is considered necessary to prevent further deterioration and remove the risk of future collapse鈥� - a characteristically hysterical and disproportionate claim. Last week, National Highways鈥� engineer told planners that this 鈥榠sn鈥檛 going away鈥�.
鈥淟ike 67 others, the project has been 鈥榩aused鈥�, but for the minister to suggest there are 鈥榥o current plans鈥� to infill the bridge represents a ridiculous attempt to contrive an alternative reality. Trust in politicians is not enhanced by deceit of this kind. The clear intention is to infill.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
