Postman rubbishes crossing claims

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A PEDESTRIAN level crossing doomed to close amid claims it has not been established as a public right of way is an official Royal Mail route used by a postman, it has emerged.

Talks are taking place between Staffordshire County Council and landowner Network Rail in a bid to prevent the Branston link from Old Street to Warren Lane closing on Sunday, February 14.

The imminent closure has triggered a mixed reaction, with many locals saying it will force them to use the ‘dangerous’ footbridge or cross the busy main road to reach amenities such as a newsagent and other shops.

However, those living alongside the railway track in Bramell Close say they welcome the scheduled closure as schoolchildren often cause noise, walk on the track and hurl boulders into their gardens.

The county council says the crossing is not a public right of way because there is no evidence that it has been in use as such for 20 years.

This requirement has prompted a flood of residents to come forward to say they have used the crossing as a right of way for as long as they can remember, with some even providing photographs from 1962 and a Midland Railway rate plan from the 1920s showing the path.

Now, a postman, who asked not to be named, has come forward to bolster these claims by pointing out that the link is part of an official Royal Mail route.

He said he has used the crossing to walk from Bramell Close to Warren Lane for five years.

The postal worker said: “For those who use their car to do the rounds in Branston, it is okay, but some still walk the route and use the crossing.

“I think this is just health and safety gone crazy.I lived in Branston for 20 years and it has always been used.”

The county council has said recognition of the crossing as a public right of way would be ‘a long process’, potentially taking several years to resolve.

However, it would not be drawn on whether the route would remain open in the meantime.