A DECISION to close a major pedestrian route just before the start of Reading Festival has been criticised by the town’s opposition parties.
In anticipation of the increased footfall as 100,000 people descend on the town for the three-day music event, Reading Borough Council has closed the underpass that links the new entrance to Reading Station with the town centre.
The passageway is used by residents wanting to go from the town to Caversham, offering a quick route to Christchurch Meadows.
Last December, councillors agreed to spend £200,000 to replace low sections of suspended ceiling tiles, protect service ducts and improve headroom clearance. Lighting was to be replaced with LEDs to reduce energy consumption.
The funding was from housebuilding firms under the Section 106 scheme.
In February, the council consulted on removing a ban on cyclists using the subway, with a decision made to allow them to pedal rather than push their way through the linking footpath.
But the work has not been done, and now needs to be carried out urgently.
In a statement published on social media, Reading Borough Council announced its intention to shut the underpass ahead of the majority of festivalgoers arriving.
“With greatly increased footfall in the town centre this weekend for the Reading Festival, we need to ensure that routes are as safe as possible for visitors,” it read.
“As part of this we need to temporarily close the station subway from 8pm on Wednesday (23rd) until 6am on Thursday (24th). In conjunction with Network Rail, this will see netting and panels removed overnight as an increased security measure. Signage will be in place to alert pedestrians.”
Reading Today understands the closure order came from Network Rail raising concerns with council officers.
And opposition parties are unhappy at this 11th hour work, saying it should have been completed months ago.
Cllr Clarence Mitchell, leader of Reading Conservatives, said his group had raised the issue more than a year ago, but despite supporting the improvement plans last December, nothing had been actioned and now a rush job was being implemented.
“Reading’s Conservative Councillors first raised the appalling state of the station underpass roof with its holes and loose netting more than a year ago and we then supported the approval of more than £200,000 in urgent repair work at committee last December,” he said.
“Reading’s Labour administration has only now been forced to act urgently because of Network Rail’s security concerns on the very eve of the Festival when ten of thousands of young people are already beginning to pass through the station.
“As we argued last year, this repair work should have been completed months ago and not be forced to happen now because of Network Rail’s urgent concerns. The Labour administration has once again been caught out, saying it always puts improvements to Reading’s infrastructure first but then failing to deliver them where and when they are most needed.”
And Councillor Rob White, Green councillor and leader of the main opposition party on Reading Council said: “Labour councillors have known about the poor state of the Reading Station underpass for some time. They should have taken action on this some time ago not been forced to do it as 100,000 festivalgoers descend on the town, the majority of them by rail.”
Cllr James Moore, leader of Reading’s Liberal Democrats, was also critical of the council’s delay.
“Although I completely agree with the need to fix this subway, it’s been a known issue for a very long time and the timing of this closure for perhaps the largest event our town sees every year is unfortunate to the point of incompetence,” he said.
“This work could have been carried out long before Reading Festival was due to take place and the train station sees some of the largest passenger numbers in the calendar.
“I would like to hope we see these sorts of scheduling mishaps avoided in the future but I won’t hold my breath.”
A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: “Reading Borough Council acted swiftly and decisively to take action on security concerns ahead of the Reading Festival, at the request of Network Rail that they only raised on Monday evening.
“The additional and substantial work to refurbish the subway and make it accessible for cyclists as well, is in plans to begin in the upcoming weeks after the intense foot traffic of the Festival is cleared.”
Network Rail has been contacted for a comment.
