Chalkwell Accessible Lift - Leigh-on-Sea

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Leigh On Sea News: Chalkwell Accessible Lift – WORK on a long-awaited accessible lift at Chalkwell station is set to start this summer, after a series of delays.

Chalkwell Accessible Lift - WORK on a long-awaited accessible lift at Chalkwell station is set to start this summer, after a series of delays.

WORK on a long-awaited accessible lift at Chalkwell station is set to start this summer, after a series of delays.

The installation of the “Access for All” lift, funded by the Department of Transport, has been postponed four times, causing consternation for residents faced with 40 steep steps to get to platform level.

Work on the lift was originally slated to begin in 2022, with Chalkwell station the only one on the c2c line that is not “access-friendly”.

Now, David Burton-Sampson, Labour MP for Southend West and Leigh, has confirmed work is scheduled to start this summer.

Mrs Jill Allen-King OBE, from Westcliff, is a blind campaigner who won a Pride of Britain Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Mrs Allen-King, 85, has been campaigning for decades to see a lift installed at Chalkwell, and said the delays faced were “scandalous”.

She told Leigh News: “I’ve been campaigning for over 40 years to get the lift put in at Chalkwell station.

“I’m pleased they’re going to start, but I’ll be more pleased when they do start and finish it.

“They’ve had the money since 2017. I haven’t been travelling since.”

Anna Firth, former Tory MP for Southend West and Leigh, campaigned for more than two years in Parliament for the lift to be installed, and said the lack of progress was “not acceptable.”

Mrs Firth added: “Chalkwell is my local station, I’ve been there with mothers with pushchairs having real difficulties trying to get young toddlers up forty steps – it’s very difficult.

“I campaigned solidly on it for the two-and-a-half-years I was MP, and David Amess before me was campaigning on it for nearly a decade. This has been a long time coming.

“C2C have promised me Jill Allen King will be the person to cut the ribbon and take the first trip down.”

A Network Rail spokesperson confirmed work is set to start later this year.

A spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with the council and c2c to finalise our plans, which will deliver two new lifts and a new railway footbridge at Chalkwell and Southend East stations. We’ll be holding information events to talk more about our plans before we begin the work.”

Picture: Campaigners at Chalkwell station (Pic: Anna Firth)

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