A NEW footbridge will provide safer access to a national park.

The existing footpath crossing which takes people across the railway line near Tide Mills, south of Newhaven, is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the country and has been identified as “high risk”.

Network Rail’s plans for the footbridge have now been approved.

The company says the structure will be unique and “has been designed to blend with the local landscape and heritage features of the old village of Tide Mills”.

Paul Donald of Network Rail South East said: “Working with the South Downs National Park Authority and local interest groups, and our designers Knight Architects and Arup, we are pleased to have developed a bespoke design that improves public safety, public access and the safe enjoyment of the area, all while protecting the local landscape and heritage.”

The bridge design was developed for Network Rail by design consultancy Knight Architects and engineering firm Arup, in collaboration with the South Downs National Park and local interest groups.

Tim Slaney, director of planning at the South Downs National Park Authority, said: “The project is sensitively designed and adds a new dimension to the landscape and cultural heritage of the area.

“The bridge provides an opportunity to enhance biodiversity through the introduction of appropriate planting on the embankments and improved habitat management.

“It also enables all to appreciate new views and interpretation of the lost village of Tide Mills, which is an area of significant archaeological interest.”

The bridge will be made of “local and natural” materials which have been chosen to complement the surrounding environment, including large pieces of timber made to look like railway sleepers.

Designers say the bridge will provide “far-reaching” views across the surrounding flat floodplain.

Laura Langridge of Knight Architects said the “special landscape of the South Downs coast” was the inspiration for the design, which improves safety at a well-used railway crossing.

She said: “The new bridge will provide a recreational journey through the landscape which also offers new viewpoints of the coast and the historic lost village of Tide Mills.”

Network Rail’s planning application was approved by the South Downs National Park Authority’s planning committee at a meeting in Midhurston on July 11.

The company is now seeking funding to install the new footbridge.