AN UNSAFE railway footbridge has been closed for more than a year, despite promises to get the structural issues fixed.

The Varde Buller footbridge, which links Durham Road and Mandeville Way in Laindon, has been closed since the start of October last year.

Network Rail installed huge barriers at either end, declaring the bridge structurally unsound.

Urgent repairs were carried out at the time to ensure trains could travel underneath, but pedestrians were told to steer clear.

But a year later the barriers are still in place and the repairs are far from getting underway.

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Kevin Wingfield, councillor of the Laindon Park ward, said: “We were told in July it would be repaired in August, and then again in October, but nothing happened.

“They don’t even notify us it’s not going ahead. They are failing in their job at this point.

“They’ve missed two promised dates.

“We’re getting more and more frustrated at this point, it’s ridiculous.

“We just feel like their priority was to just sort it for the trains and leave the rest of the issues.”

This comes after fellow Tory councillor for Basildon Council, Andrew Schrader, wrote to Network Rail with concern over plans to chop down overgrown trees and bushes on the railway line in Billericay.

The shrubbery will be chopped back from now until the spring.

Mr Wingfield, who has fielded complaints from residents, along with Chris Allen, councillor for Langdon Hills, added: “Many people rely on it as a link between communities and it is located very nearby to the Stay and Play children’s play centre on Durham Road, and a lot of parents will walk their children across the bridge to and from the centre.

“They face a considerable diversion for what would otherwise have been a short hop across the tracks.

“People’s commutes are extended too because of the bridge being closed. I can understand if there have been serious delays, but we’re not told about them, so we have no idea why the work hasn’t started yet.”

Network Rail was contacted for comment.