LATEST plans for a pedestrian crossing at Wareham railway station will be unveiled at a public exhibition later this month.

Rail bosses, citing safety concerns, have wanted to close the existing pedestrian crossing at Wareham railway station for years.

But town residents, who say the crossing is part of the main route linking Wareham and Northmoor, are opposed to the move.

Last year more than 2,200 people signed a petition calling for the existing surface level crossing - which is controlled by locking gates and a security guard - to be retained.

Campaigners have called for the gates to be linked to the signal system, as they are in Poole High Street.

In 2015 plans for a ramped pedestrian footbridge at the site of Wareham station’s existing stepped footbridge were turned down by Purbeck

District Council (PDC) on

the grounds the structure was too large and would add too much time to pedestrian journeys.

The latest proposals are to once again add new ramps to the station’s existing footbridge, but designers say these latest ramps are shorter than previous designs.

Dorset County Council’s Wareham ward member, Cllr Beryl Ezzard - who is also a PDC member - said: “At the moment many vulnerable residents, children in buggies and pedestrians with limited mobility, and cyclists, use the level crossing.

“The bridge over the railway line has to be accessed by steps when the gates are closed. In the future, with extra trains scheduled, the level access will be more limited.

“Adding ramps to the current bridge will provide a safer route across the railway line 24-hours a day.”

Bridge engineers from Network Rail and Dorset Highways will be on hand at the public exhibition scheduled for Wareham Town Hall at Wareham Town Hall, on July 11, from 3-7pm.

Cllr Ezzard said: “I would encourage residents and rail users who use the level crossing to come and view the plans at the exhibition, and ask any questions about the proposals.”

Visit dorsetforyou.com/wareham-level-crossing for further details.