Concerns over '˜eyesore' wall near town station

Dozens of complaints have been made about a ‘dreadful’ wall which separates a car park at Burgess Hill Station, off Station Road, and houses in Keymer Court.

Councillor Anne Jones MBE (Con, Meeds) said several residents had spoken to her about the state of the wall and the area surrounding it.

She said the wall was crumbling down with nothing being done to fix it and she was determined to get the problem sorted.

“The wall there which is right by the side of the fences is crumbling and falling down,” she said.

“It is a mess. It’s hideous, things have just been dumped there.”

As well as the run-down state of the structure rubbish has also been dumped around it.

Mrs Jones raised safety concerns with worries the debris could scatter into the car park and the litter attracting vermin.

“I think in the long term it could be dangerous,” she continued. “It’s just dreadful, it’s an eyesore.

“It’s time we stopped begging and action was taken.”

So far it is unclear who owns the land the wall is on.

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said he had been looking into the issues since 2014 and it had gone on for ‘far too long’.

He had been speaking to Network Rail about fixing the problem and gave it a further warning in a meeting last month that something needed to be done.

However, he said: “It is not a straight forward job at all. The wall belongs to a property which is owned by another land owner.”

He said he did not know who owned the land.

Mid Sussex District Council and Mrs Jones also said they did not know who owned the land. Mrs Jones felt Network Rail should take responsibility as the issue was affecting its car park.

She said: “Burgess Hill Railway Station is the main station for Burgess Hill and we have a huge business park and people come from all over the world who use that station.

“They have spent a fortune on Haywards Heath station, which they deserve, and we are left with this.”

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Network Rail does not own the wall, however, we recognise that works needs to be done and we are working with the owner to reach a conclusion.”

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