Hundreds join Edward Fox at protest to save Wareham crossing

Respected actor Edward Fox and local MP Vikki Slade teamed up to lead hundreds of local residents in their fight to retain Wareham’s ground level rail crossing in Dorset.

An amazing turnout on Saturday 1st February 2025 saw locals of all ages, many in wheelchairs and with placards, show their support for a growing campaign to keep the right of way across the rail line which cuts Wareham in two.

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Day of the Jackal actor Edward Fox and MP Vikki Slade, whose constituency includes Wareham, are leading the protest to save the town’s level crossing

A ‘criminal disregard’ for locals

Edward Fox, who lives locally and is a frequent user of Wareham station, speaking at the protest said that Network Rail was showing a criminal disregard for locals and urged the town to keep fighting for its rights.

And MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade, whose constituency includes Wareham, has managed to secure a face to face meeting with Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy, scheduled for Monday 24th February 2025, to ask for his help in getting all parties around the table to sort out the problem.

She has vowed to raise the issue with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions if she cannot get satisfaction any other way.

The railway cuts the town in two, and the elderly, cyclists and parents with prams find it impossible to use an overhead bridge

Rejected as unworkable

Dorset Council currently pays £120,000 a year to staff a manned crossing which allows residents to get from Wareham’s largest housing estates to the town’s schools and shops, but landowner Network Rail has vowed to close the crossing in 2038 when the current lease runs out.

Although there is a pedestrian bridge crossing the line, the steps are too steep for the disabled, parents with prams, or cyclists.

Most residents want to see the electronic gates become automated, but that requires the consent of Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road.

Other attempts to find an alternative answer over the last two decades, including a ramp a quarter of a mile long and lifts to the top of the existing bridge, have been rejected as unworkable.

MP Vikki Slade with town crier Jacquie Hall and junior town crier Peter Leaton, rallying the protestors

“Right at the top of my agenda”

Vikki Slade said:

“This issue has been going on for a long time – I am the town’s third MP who has had to deal with this problem, and it is completely ridiculous that it has not been resolved yet.

“It is right at the top of my agenda because I know how important the issue is to the people of Wareham and I am determined to do my bit to help.

“I have already raised the matter in Parliament after Network Rail gave me completely mixed messages about their reasons for wanting to close the level crossing, and will work with Dorset Council to ensure that the people of Wareham retain their ground level crossing.

“I don’t have the power to make the decision myself – I really wish MPs were that powerful. But I will keep on fighting, speaking up in Parliament and if I don’t get a satisfactory solution I will take it to the Prime Minister himself.”

Wareham residents who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters can’t cross the railway anywhere else

“There is a willingness to spend money”

The MP added:

“It is a travesty that this was ever allowed to get into such a position where the ground level crossing was no longer a formal right of way.

“I want to challenge Network Rail on the facts – they own the space, Dorset Council are funding the crossing and have said they are willing to find funds for a permanent solution, so I have to use my influence to influence them, as they are the ones that make the decision.

“It was great to see that the leader of Dorset Council was here today, he is clearly committed to the cause as well. There is a willingness to spend the money, we just have to make sure that it is spent on what people actually want.

“In the meantime, we have to fight and fight and fight – people are so far away from where decisions are made that it can feel like you are being ignored, and even I felt like I was being fobbed off when I met Network Rail, it has been a huge frustration.”

Edward Fox said he is well aware how vital the ground level crossing is

“Harmful to our charming station”

Edward Fox praised the protestors for coming out in force and standing up for the town. He said:

“I’m well aware how vital the ground level crossing is to residents, particularly the large population on the north side of town who absolutely rely on the crossing to access health care, shops, jobs and schools.

“This route has been in existence since Saxon times and has served people well since then. In my mind it is presumptuous that Network Rail is proposing once again to build a ramped bridge at Wareham station when three previous, similar schemes have failed.

“Network Rail’s plan would cut the town in half, an extraordinary notion in itself, isolate vulnerable residents who would find it impossible to use steep ramps, and prevent school children cycling to school.

“Building an ugly ramped bridge would be extremely harmful to our historic, charming station – what a poor first impression it would give to visitors coming here.”

The railway line cuts Wareham in two, separating its schools, shops and health amenities from large housing estates

“Not just unfair, it is criminal”

Edward Fox added:

“I am delighted that our MP, Vikki Slade, came here to listen to the concerns of the local people, to champion this cause, join the battle on behalf of the community and not to kowtow to the bureaucrats in Network Rail.

“I wonder whether Network Rail believes that machinery is more important than human beings, as they seem happy to allow people to push a wheelchair up a one in twenty gradient over a ramp more than 200 metres long, or even worse.

“They seem intent on inflicting irreversible damage on this town and making a permanent blot on Wareham’s historic station, so I made a point of seeing who uses this crossing and it is an eye opener.

“There are many people who are invalided, children and mothers looking after children, and one wonders what else they would do – you can’t ask mothers on a wet cold windy night to take children on roads which are extremely busy. It is not just unfair, it is criminal.”

Former Wareham mayor Carol Turner was dismayed that the issue was still unresolved after decades

Unusable by the elderly and frail

Former Wareham mayor, Carol Turner, told the meeting that she was really disappointed that the town found itself once again having to fight for a route which should have stayed as a public right of way.

She said that the railway crossing was and still is the only pedestrian route between the two halves of Wareham, and a bridge would be unusable by the many who are elderly and frail, those in wheelchairs, or those who push buggies and prams.

Wareham mayor Marian Cotton has called on Network Rail not to punish the town

Crossing is a vital link

And current town mayor Marian Cotton said:

“The support here today shows just how important this issue is to our community, and I am speaking as someone who recognises the devastating impact that closing this crossing would have on our town.

“For years this crossing has been a vital link between both sides of our community and without it pedestrians, cyclists and those on mobility scooters or with prams would have to find a completely unacceptable or unsafe alternative.

“Instead of working with us to find a solution, Network Rail is insisting on a permanent closure, cutting our town in two and making life significantly harder for residents, businesses and visitors alike.”

Some protestors even brought luggage along to the meeting

“We are not asking for the impossible”

Marian Cotton added:

“We have explored alternatives, like an automated crossing, but we are told that it is not possible due to technical reasons which remain unclear.

“A bridge with ramps would be an unsightly and controversial option and lifts have now been ruled out, so I ask what is the solution?

“We are not against improving safety, but simply closing the crossing without providing a viable alternative is not an option and just shows a lack of regard for the people it will affect most. Our community deserves better.

“Dorset Council’s adopted plans for Wareham states the surface level crossing across the railway line shall be retained. I call on Network Rail to engage with us properly, to listen and to work towards a solution that keeps our town connected – that is not asking for the impossible.”

Getting the message across a letter at a time – Save Wareham’s Crossing!

Further information

  • An online petition to save Wareham’s crossing can be signed at Change.org

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