Writers including Robert Macfarlane have joined local people protesting against Network Rail’s “neglect and inattention” after a medieval green lane renowned for its beauty and wildlife was closed to walkers.
Cowpasture Lane in Mellis, Suffolk, was partly destroyed in 1981 by a farmer who chopped down the trees lining the medieval drovers’ road but it was saved from obliteration by the writer Roger Deakin, who successfully battled to preserve it in the high court.
The green lane, which is renowned for its bats, owls, orchids and ancient coppiced trees, has been closed for a year by the county council because Network Rail has declared a malfunctioning pedestrian level crossing where the lane meets the London to Norwich railway line to be unsafe.
It means that ramblers, horse riders and tourists walking from Mellis Common who visit the lane because of its association with Deakin – who died in 2006 and whose former farm runs alongside its boundary – can only use a short stretch of the public right of way before having to turn back.
Robert Macfarlane, who is Deakin’s literary executor and has written extensively about his old friend, said: “Cowpasture Lane is a centuries-old footpath and right of way: a medieval green lane which has already been dramatically saved once from closure. In the 1980s, it was the site of a major battle, led by Roger Deakin, to prevent it being ploughed over and lost.
“Now it’s being closed again, this time by neglect and inattention on the part of Network Rail, who via the council have issued a rolling set of temporary closures, extending indefinitely into the future. This is both unacceptable and dangerous. The crossing must be restored, and this historic access route reestablished between Mellis Common to the north – the largest area of unfenced common land in England – and the fields and woods to the south of the railway.”
Cowpasture Lane crosses the railway at a pedestrian level crossing that last year was upgraded by Network Rail from a latched gate to red and green lights and an audible warning signal to guide walkers across. According to Network Rail, it had to close the crossing because the new system was showing a green light when a train was approaching on the 100mph stretch of line.
The crossing was closed in October 2022, but despite visits from engineers, it has not been fixed. A six-month closure was this spring extended until October and the crossing fortified with security fencing to stop rebel walkers crossing the line.
Legend has it that the body of St Edmund, an East Anglian king, was carried along Cowpasture Lane in 870 after he was killed fighting the Vikings at Hoxne.
Jasmin Rowlandson, who lives in Deakin’s old farmhouse, said: “We’ve crossed that path for 30 years without anyone telling us how to do it and suddenly they put a traffic light in and it doesn’t work and we’re not allowed over.”
Titus Rowlandson, the author of Life at Walnut Tree Farm, a history of Deakin’s decades at the old farm, said: “Roger would be up in arms about this. Who approved this infrastructure? Did anyone do a carbon footprint calculation? We’ve had teams and teams of subcontractors down here looking at the crossing. It’s jobs for the boys. The lights, the noise, the cameras to ‘prevent crime’ – what crime?”
Residents fear Network Rail wants to close all similar pedestrian crossings in the area to enable trains to increase their speeds.
Rowland Warboys,a local Green party councillor who visited the crossing with the Green MP Caroline Lucas, said: “It’s ridiculous. It’s an historic right of way that goes back to the Middle Ages. That level crossing existed as just a gate and wooden planks for decades.
“Network Rail have expressed a need to close similar foot crossings which aren’t controlled in any way so they can speed up the trains from London to Norwich. They’ve put lights and the siren on this one which is overkill in a rural area – and the noise and lights aren’t safe for horses.
“If the new crossing breaking down was a safety concern, Network Rail should have fixed it within 24 hours.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry for the delay in reopening Cowpasture Lane level crossing but we can’t take any risks with people’s safety. The crossing was closed following the discovery of a fault with the safety system where the lights showed it was safe to cross when a train was approaching. Since then we have undertaken meticulous testing of the equipment both on and off site to understand what went wrong and minimise the risk of the same fault happening again.
“Engineers are now preparing to reinstall the safety system and bring the level crossing back into use by the end of June 2023. We’d like to thank the local community for bearing with us during this time.”
