A PETITION to keep a pedestrian level crossing open has been signed by more than 2,500 people.

Residents are fighting to keep the level crossing in Wareham open, with Network Rail proposing to close it as part of its strategic plan for the area.

As reported, the threat of closure has been hanging over the level crossing for more than a decade.

Plans were approved in 2013 to build ramps to the pedestrian footbridge and remove the crossing, although this was never done.

Further plans were then submitted in 2015 and 2017, with both applications refused.

Now, the Wareham Town Trust is encouraging more residents to sign its petition to keep the crossing open, so it can be debated at a meeting of Dorset Council.

The group said the crossing is ‘vital’ for many in the town, as it is the only route for pedestrians and cyclists between the two halves of the town.

Residents rely on the crossing to access jobs, schools, shops, doctors, dentists and other services every day, as well as using it to visit friends and relatives, the petitioners said.

It added any attempt to replace the crossing with a ramped bridge would be “unpleasant, inconvenient and impractical for an able-bodied person and impossible for anyone with a disability or who is elderly”.

The group has called for a permanent solution, after a report commissioned in 2023 on the feasibility of an automated crossing, supported by the council, community and MP Michael Tomlinson, is yet to be made public.

Actor Edward Fox OBE championed the campaign in 2016 to keep the crossing open.

He said: “The crossing is a lifeline for local residents.

“A permanent solution must be found to keep this vital crossing open.

“Network Rail and Dorset Council must do all they can to make this happen and secure what is clearly an absolute necessity for the many hundreds that use it on a daily basis.”

The petition was launched at the end of April and residents are encouraged to sign it online or sign copies in the Post Offices in North Street, Wareham, and at Carey.

To find the online petition, search Save Wareham’s Ground Level Pedestrian Railway Crossing on Change.org.