Permanent closures of level crossings:
Please provide a list of the annual numbers of level crossings, over which there is a public right of way, that have been closed permanently since 2009.
Devon County Council has not permanently closed a level crossing since 2009 other than where another permanent crossing was put in place e.g. Powderham Bridge on the Exe Estuary Trail and Footpath 29, Exeter which was diverted onto a road which leads to a new bridge at Marsh Barton Station.
Please provide location details for each of these closures by way of right of way number and parish or grid reference.
Powderham Footpath 3 (SX 97170 84717)
Exeter Footpath 26 (SX 92825 90254)
For each permanent closure, please indicate whether a diversion has been put in place which is free of vehicular traffic.
Powderham Footpath 3 – yes, a permanent bridge was put in place over the railway which carries the Exe Estuary Trail (NCN2)
Exeter Footpath 26 – yes, using a public footpath, pavements and a new bridge at Marsh Barton Station. A very short length of vehicular road might be used to the north of the station (the team have not visited the site since the station was opened).
Temporary closures of level crossings
Please provide a list of the annual numbers of level crossings, over which there is a public right of way, that have been closed temporarily since 2009 by a Traffic Regulation Order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Prior to 2021-22, Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) records for Public Rights of Way were not routinely collated in a central register / log. It would require an excessive amount of time to identify each and every path that crosses a railway line, and whether any of those paths has been subject to a TTRO since 2009 – the PRoW network is more than 4000 km . We are therefore not obliged to provide this information pursuant to section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We can confirm that a reasonable estimate is an average of 1 TTROs per year which includes a level crossing.
The most recent TTRO relating to the railway was due to works to the sea wall at Dawlish as part of the South West Rail Resilience Programme – Network Rail. The relevant paths (Dawlish Footpath 7 and also Dawlish Footpath 10) paths are currently open (and do not include level crossings). The temporary closures started in 2020, running intermittently until Spring 2023.
In 2021, Colebrook Footpath 19 was subject to a 6 month TTRO due to pedestrian crossing improvement works relating to reinstatement of passenger trains between Okehampton and Exeter.
In 2021, 2022 and the early 2023, Colebrook Footpath 4 was subject to TTROs, due to crossing improvement works relating to reinstatement of passenger trains between Okehampton and Exeter
Access across the railway at Sandy Lane, Rewe is currently restricted (since late 2022) whilst works are carried out to improve the pedestrian crossing – the legal status of Sandy Lane is a pedestrian only highway (i.e. a road, with vehicular and horse riding / cycling rights extinguished). The lane is due to be reopened by Network Rails in August 2023.
Please indicate which of these closures have been in place on a rolling basis, i.e. repeated application of order for the same crossing.
Dawlish Footpath 7 and Dawlish Footpath 10 have been subject to repeat closures as part of the above referenced rail resilience programme. These started in 2020, with closures (intermittently) until Spring 2023. The paths are currently open – and are not level crossings.
Colebrook Footpath 4 was subject to repeat closures between April 2021 and January 2023, but is now fully open, with an improved pedestrian crossing.
Please provide location details for each of these closures by way of right of way number and parish or grid reference.
As per above.
For each temporary closure, please indicate whether a diversion has been put in place which is free of vehicular traffic.
No – traffic free diversions were not feasible for the above referenced TTROs.
Fatalities
Please provide a list of the annual numbers of level crossings, over which there is a public right of way, where a pedestrian fatality has occurred since 2009 – excluding those fatalities which were attributed to suicide or suspected suicide.
b. In responding to the above, please provide relevant location details by way of right of way number and parish or grid reference.
There are no road injury collisions records on our system, as detailed below:
Colebrook FP4 = 0
Powderham FP3 = 0 (But there was one recorded on the level crossing replacement ped/cycle bridge)
Exeter FP26 = 0
Dawlish Footpath 7 = 0 N/A
Dawlish Footpath 10 = 0 N/A
Sandy Lane Rewe HMPE/STATS19 = 0 N/A
Colebrook FP19 HMPE/STATS19 = 0 N/A