Network Rail reveals plans for closed Plumpton level crossing

Network Rail has told residents of an East Sussex village it will push forward with the removal of an "unsafe" level crossing barrier.

It plans to replace the Plumpton barrier, which has listed status, and reopen the road mid-November.

But the company could face prosecution if it goes ahead without permission, a local councillor has warned.

The council has already refused planning permission to replace the gates with a more modern solution.

Lewes District Council said it believed that replacing the listed barrier would cause "substantial harm to the significance of the signal box".

Network Rail is appealing against the decision and submitting a new application for listed buildings consent.

More than 600 people signed a petition to get the crossing reopened as they are faced with a six-or seven-mile detour.

At a public meeting on Friday, the rail operator said it believed the "quickest and safest" way to reopen the crossing was to install a "modern, safe system used widely in Britain and other European countries".

This will begin immediately with the intention to open the road within five weeks, it added.

But local councillor Sarah Osbourne warned: "I don't welcome the way Network Rail have done this.

"Obviously I am especially keen to get the gates opened but they are not doing it in the right way.

"Their action once they take it will be illegal and I have recommended to Lewes District Council that we prosecute because they will be breaking the law."

Network Rail plans to remove the gates over the weekend of 24-25 October and store them safely "until a long-term solution has been determined with full consent from the local authority".

Alasdair Coates, Network Rail route managing director for the South East, said: "It's clear many people will be disappointed by this decision but the community were clear that the priority for them is to reopen the road as quickly and safely as possible."