Long-awaited proposals for footbridges and facilities at a railway station have gone to council planners.
Network Rail has applied for approval to build a new footbridge with lifts and staircases at Eaglescliffe Railway Station. The old footbridge and access ramps, meanwhile, will be kept and “renewed” and a taxi office demolished and rebuilt.
The plans include a new footbridge connecting to west and east car parks and the Durham Lane Industrial Estate, with towers, landings and equipment rooms, and a new brick waiting shelter with a ticket counter on the platforms.
The “treacherous” disabled access at the station was investigated by the government following Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s struggle to commute from Teesside to London. She raised the issue in 2015.
Approval was given in June 2022, but the developer says there have been “minor amendments” since to the scheme for the Station Road site, which is funded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Network Rail and the Department for Transport.
Matt Leighton, town planner for Network Rail, says in a letter to the Stockton Council: “The scope of works now includes the retention of the existing ramped footbridge, the renewal of its bridge deck and the demolition and construction in brick of the ticket office/waiting room and taxi office. The installation of the new footbridge will still connect the existing car park to the platforms, this will be extended across the sidings to the west side of the railway to connect to a new car park.
“The existing station footbridge and its access ramps are to be retained,” says the developer. But it is proposed to renew the existing bridge deck and parapets and replace them with a new standard steel footbridge, and CCTV cameras will be installed to cover the proposed lifts, waiting facilities and accessible routes.
“In essence the existing station bridge is being renewed and supplemented with a new structure located to the north incorporating lift towers in a contemporary design. The bridge will also be extended westwards towards the industrial estate.”
It is part of the Access For All scheme to provide accessible routes to platforms for wheelchair users. Mr Leighton adds: “Eaglescliffe station has been identified as a station where the provision of lifts is justified and necessary to enable the station to be accessible for all users.
“It is proposed to install three lifts at each end of the existing footbridge and one in the middle to serve the platforms. Access to the new structure will be via an uncovered steel staircase, consisting of three flights of stairs and two intermediate landings.
“It was selected to locate the new bridge northwards to enable the existing footbridge to be kept in use during construction of the new bridge, reducing the impact upon station users. The new location is also preferable when compared to other options as it provides a shorter walking route for users than the other options considered.
“The location and design were selected to reduce the impact upon the nearby residents… . It will be in a pleasing masonry finish to the lower sections of the lift shafts and cladding to the upper sections.”
The council approved plans for a new car park of up to 100 spaces, with ten electric vehicle charging stations, at the station in July last year. The authority purchased a 26-hectare site at the nearby industrial park in 2021 to help protect and develop a key site, with part of the land to be used as the new station car park.
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