CAMPAIGNERS have lost their battle to stop Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet from ringfencing more than £400,000 for a new footbridge in Bramley.

As previously reported by The Gazette, the borough council’s decision-making Cabinet agreed to ringfence £450,000 for a new footbridge at Bramley railway story as part of the Local Infrastructure Fund. The Local Infrastructure Fund, part of the New Homes Bonus Scheme provided by central Government, aims to help deliver “larger ticket” facilities and infrastructure improvements of over £25,000, and the projects have to make a significant and long-lasting impact on the local community.

Councillor Ranil Jayawardena, deputy leader of the borough council and Bramley ward member, submitted a bid for £450,000 from the fund towards a £1million railway footbridge at Bramley railway station. The project, which would be carried out in partnership with Hampshire County Council and Network Rail, would seek to provide a quicker and safer access across the level crossing.

However, Bramley Parish Council spoke against the plans at the original Cabinet meeting on October 28 after they submitted a bid asking for £355,000 for a series of safety initiatives including the provision of a puffin crossing, a 20mph zone and more cycle routes in Bramley.

Councillors on the borough’s scrutiny committee also called on the Cabinet to ensure that the scheme would be fully accessible if it was to go forward after it emerged that the proposed scheme would not be accessible for disabled users and people with pushchairs.

But the seven-strong Cabinet decided to carry on with the plan to ringfence the funds at a meeting last Wednesday to ensure that if the scheme goes forward, funds will be available.

Cllr David Potter, Labour councillor for Popley East, told the meeting: “I believe this to be a flawed proposal, and it is based on a flawed LIF application. I don’t want this council to be associated with a project of this sort which is going to provide limited access to a limited number of people.”

Conservative council leader Cllr Clive Sanders defended the plans, telling the meeting that the money will be ringfenced for a year, and the parish council’s application will be developed alongside feasibility studies on the footbridge.