Footpath reopens for Melton railway passengers

The path leads around the back of the borough council offices, on Parkside, and provides a much quicker route to and from the station into town.

Network Rail said they initially closed the path because an adjacent car park was no longer being used after the council did not renew its lease for it.

Several passengers were spotted vaulting the gate to save having to make a longer walk to and from the station along the main council access which runs parallel with Burton Street and some posted on social media that not being able to use the path led to them missing trains.

But the council said today (Monday): “The permissive path in Melton Mowbray leading from the town park to the train station has been reopened.

"This is currently a temporary arrangement between ourselves and our partners at Network Rail, who own the land.

“We understand this path is important to those in our local community and are continuing to work closely together to try and develop a longer term agreement that can benefit the residents of Melton and our visitors who use the local train services.”

Melton MP Alicia Kearns had expressed concerns about the issue, commenting that the footpath’s closure appeared to have been done without warning to the public. She was concerned about the dangers of passengers climbing over fences in a bid to use the path.