Ash Level Crossing Will Not Close in December, SCC Assures Residents

Published on: 27 Nov, 2024
Updated on: 27 Nov, 2024

Ash level crossing will now remain open until January when the new bridge is expected to open.

By David Reading

Planned work which will close the Ash level crossing has been postponed until January, by which time the new road bridge should be open to traffic, Surrey County Council confirmed today (Wednesday).

The council statement is the latest in a series of developments which began last Friday when Guildford Borough Council startled residents with the news that the bridge opening had had been postponed until January but that a section of Ash Church Road and the level crossing would be closed several weeks beforehand – in early December.

It has always been envisaged that the level crossing will close eventually, but the proposed timing shocked local residents.

Posting on social media, people expressed concern that there would be traffic mayhem and long diversions through December and until the opening of the bridge. It remains unclear why GBC ever considered closing the level crossing before opening the bridge.

Cllr Matt Furniss

On Monday the county council found itself at loggerheads with GBC as a result of comments made on Facebook by one of SCC’s leading members, Cllr Matt Furniss (Con, Shalford), who is Cabinet member for Transport. Cllr Furniss said: “I’ve now had confirmation that Surrey Highways have NOT agreed to this (GBC’s) proposal.” GBC responded angrily – saying that Cllr Furniss’s statement was “factually incorrect.”

SCC’s new statement attempts to put the matter to rest. It says: “The extent of works needed at the level crossing are larger than previously anticipated. Therefore it is not prudent to commence these works before the Christmas period. Works will be deferred to January, at which time the new bridge should be open to traffic which will provide alternate diversion route options. We will update local residents in due course.”

Although it is not overtly stated that the level crossing will remain open to traffic during this period, this is the clear implication, which should allay residents’ fears.

Cllr Sue Wyeth-Price

Borough councillor Sue Wyeth-Price (R4GV, Ash South) commented: “I am glad that the councils have now seen sense and postponed the level crossing closure. What is needed now is a clear and concise statement to residents confirming that the road will not be closed until the bridge is fully opened, giving the date when the bridge will be opened and stating what the diversion routes will be. The time for recriminations and blame should come later.”

The whole controversy began last Friday when the postponement of the opening of the bridge was announced in a short news release from GBC which lacked any detailed explanation about why the opening had been put back.

Separately, some residents had received a letter from the contractors Volker Fitzpatrick announcing the postponement of Phase Five of the project until early December.

This letter stated: “Phase five is expected to take approximately nine weeks. This will involve closing the level crossing to motorised traffic and the full-depth reconstruction of Ash Church Road between Britten Close and Foreman Road.”

Faced with a proposal to close the level crossing but postpone the bridge opening, residents posting on social media were horrified. One contributor described the situation as “the worst case of planning I’ve ever seen.”

It was at this point that Cllr Furniss posted on Facebook that that he had received confirmation that Surrey Highways had not agreed to the proposal.

“He added: “We do not know why it has been communicated without discussion with us as the Highway Authority… SCC doesn’t support the approach outlined in the letter delivered by Guildford Borough Council and are in discussion with the project team.”

GBC waded in by accusing Cllr Furniss of issuing a statement that was “factually incorrect” – an accusation rejected by Cllr Furniss.

Seeking to clarify the matter, a GBC spokesperson said its contractor, Volker Fitzpatrick Limited, had discussed with and obtained a permit from Surrey County Council for the diversion route on November 4. This was available, and showed as granted on SCC’s website at the time at which the Facebook post was made.

GBC claimed the permit was only withdrawn after Cllr Furniss’s Facebook statement appeared.

Questioned by The Dragon, Cllr Furniss said the permit issued to GBC was provisional, adding: “It was issued on the basis that they could only close the level crossing once the bridge was opened to traffic. Not that they could have both routes closed at the same time which we did not agree to which was stated in the letter issued to residents.

“The provisional permit is now being reviewed following GBC’s letter and the Highways Team are trying to speak to the project team at GBC.”

The matter was further complicated when Ash parish councillor John Tonks, a Conservative, posted on Facebook: “I have confirmed, via Surrey County Council Highways, that the planned road closure of the level crossing has been postponed. The closure was provisional, requiring the diversion route via the road bridge to be available. As the opening of the bridge has been delayed, the works around the level crossing, requiring its temporary closure, must also now be rescheduled to when the diversion route is available.”

SCC’s statement now confirms that the level crossing closure has been postponed. But there is still no clear explanation of the reason why the bridge opening has been put back.