BROCKENHURST people will be asked if they want a £5 million bridge to take traffic away from the level crossing which cuts across their village.

Local MP Julian Lewis has offered to present a petition to Parliament on Brockenhurst's behalf, asking for cash to solve one of the New Forest's worst and oldest bottlenecks.

The idea of a road bridge over the busy Bournemouth-to-London railway at Brockenhurst was first raised in the early 1930s.

Those pre-war plans were never finalised, but local district councillor Maureen Holding believes many residents think the 66-year-old scheme is worth pursuing.

"The level crossing brings fumes, and traffic jams, and encourages rat-running through our quiet village roads. And it is getting steadily worse.

"At the last meeting of the Friends of Brockenhurst, most people seemed to think a bridge was the best solution.

"I want to get every person in Brockenhurst to sign a petition in favour of the idea. The more signatures we have, the more weight it will carry when Julian presents it to Parliament," she told a meeting of the parish council.

Parish councillor Nina Ball said: "The plan has to be viable, not a wacky scheme. We need a working party to decide what we really want."

And councillor Bill Greer said it should be tackled as part of an integrated transport policy. He added: "In safety terms, level crossings should be got rid of throughout the country, but a bridge on its own is not going to help us much."

Mrs Holding said petitioning Parliament for a huge plan probably wouldn't work, but a limited scheme - like Brockenhurst Bridge - might.

A spokesman for Dr Lewis said the MP was happy to highlight the problem via a Commons petition.

"People in Brockenhurst are fed up with delays at the level crossing. But a bridge would have to fit in with the rural environment," he said.

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