CONSENT has been granted for a new footbridge at Liphook Railway Station.

The current bridge is to be removed and will be replaced by one incorporating lifts to provide easy access between platforms for wheelchair users, people with pushchairs and cyclists.

Planning permission was given by East Hampshire District Council on August 3.

The decision to include lifts at Liphook – the nearest station to Bordon – will come as a pleasant surprise to passengers, as the Herald reported earlier this year that Network Rail was making progress on plans for a new footbridge without them.

In April 2019 the Department of Transport turned down a bid for ‘Access for All’ funding at Liphook station.

At the time some £500,000 of developer contributions collected from the Silent Garden housing development off Portsmouth Road had been earmarked for access improvements at the station and was being held by Hampshire County Council.

In April this year East Hampshire held a public consultation on Network Rail’s plans for a new bridge without lifts, although its design would have allowed lifts to be added in the future.

The decision to upgrade the plans will benefit southbound passengers, who until now have had to use the old bridge to catch trains and leave the station.