Kibworth Villagers Win Bridge Battle – HFM

Villagers in Kibworth have a won a battle to keep an essential pedestrian route open when a railway bridge closes for up to eight months.

Network Rail has agreed to install a temporary footbridge while work to upgrade the main bridge off School Road takes place.

It follows a campaign mounted by local councillors and Harborough MP Neil O’Brien, after safety concerns were expressed about the  long diversion route proposed for during the closure, which would have seen pedestrians having to cross busy roads.

The School Road bridge

Over 100 villagers attended a public meeting to raise concerns with Network Rail and a spokesperson told HFM: “Following our engagement with the parish council, district council and residents we are pleased to confirm that we will be installing a temporary footbridge in School Lane while we work on replacing the permanent bridge.

“We will share timescales and specific details with residents via a drop in session that will be advertised locally in the coming weeks.”

The bridge, to be re-built as part of work to electrify the tracks, links Kibworth Harcourt and Kibworth Beauchamp and is heavily used by schoolchildren and residents to get to and from Warwick Park.

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien and Kibworth councillors Simon Whelband and Phil King have all welcomed the announcement:

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References

1. ^{^} https://harboroughfm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/neil-bridgeforweb.mp3 (harboroughfm.co.uk)