Great Bradford Wood Crossing disused ?

[387star]

The foot crossing just after Bradfird Junction heading towards Bradford on Avon called Great Bradford Wood Foot Crossing is clearly out of use. The warning sign is still there but the footpath is overgrown and there is no walkway over the track. Whistle boards remain in place in both directions for some reason.

When did this Crossing close and why aren't the whistle boards removed?

Meanwhile Bradford on Avon has had its roof removed a month or so ago. Hopefully a new roof will be installed soon

 

[philthetube]

Having looked at the ordinance survey map I see there is no public footpath crossing the railway, however there is a pocket of land with no alternative access apart from over the railway, possibly a farmer or someone has permission to cross, and is a key holder?

I have seen non electrified footpath crossings with no walk boards in the past, though I could not say where.

 

[DJ_K666]

Could this be what they mean by 'Permissive path'? I've seen it used but never really been very on it.

 

[RichA]

Great Bradford Wood is a private footpath crossing, usually provided for a land owner to access their land on the opposite side of the railway. In this instance it is technically open, hence the whistle boards, but has had no evidence of use for a considerable time.

 

[pdeaves]

why aren't the whistle boards removed?

In the general case, sometimes whistle boards aren't removed simply because they were forgotten. A crossing near Tonbridge, closed before 2002, had its boards removed late last year. Forgotten for 20-or-so years!

 

[181]

Is it at 32.13 in this video? -- there's something on the left that could perhaps be a Stop/Look/Listen sign.

The land also appears to be accessible by a farm track crossing a bit further west, or under the bridge by which the railway crosses the river, so maybe the farmer has no cause to use the foot crossing.

I've used a few unboarded public foot crossings over the years; I'd imagine there are still some around

Unless it has a different meaning in the railway context, a permissive path is one that the public can use by permission of the landowner rather than by right.

 

[RichA]

The whistle boards are still in place because the crossing is still open and available for use by the authorised user at any time. In the same video mentioned by 181 above there are private FP crossings at 34.30 with associated whistle board and no deck, very hard to spot and on a skew, never used but open. Also private FP at 38.46 Limply Stoke with deck and used regularly by residents of the house on the left to car park on the right, again with whistle board. A few public footpath crossings without decks still exist but are getting less and less.

 

[AndyNLondon]

Could this be what they mean by 'Permissive path'? I've seen it used but never really been very on it.

From what others have said about this location, no.
A permissive path is a path that the landowner allows the public to use, but that's not a public right of way. If a path is used as a public right of way then it can become one, so putting up "permissive path" signs, or having a permissive path agreement with the local council, is a way for the landowner to let people carry on using it without accidentally granting a PROW over their land.