Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon’s £22 million ‘bridge to nowhere’ remains unopened 12 years after construction, raising fresh concerns over public spending and infrastructure delays.
“It’s taking an awfully long time for that concrete to dry, isn’t it!”
chuckles 72-year-old Dave Smith.
As he looks through the metal fencing at the coffee-drinking workers on the steps leading to the pedestrian bridge, which should enable him to carry his bulky shopping bags across the tracks at the north end of East Croydon station, the retired engineer and longtime Croydon resident shakes his head.
Because the £22 million bridge, which was put in place in January 2013 and opened on the station’s western side in December 2013, is still closed on the eastern side, he must drag them around the station for an additional five minutes.
This progressively run-down plan seems to be the result of a well-known story: a mix of government ineptitude, delay, and buck-passing.
Although it may seem insignificant, this station is the tenth busiest in the United Kingdom. Last year, 20 million people began or finished their journeys there, and in 2024, 3.3 million people changed trains there.
Users of the station were surprised to hear that Network Rail will not be erecting ticket barriers at the eastern end, despite the fact that the structure, which is referred to locals as the “bridge to nowhere,” will eventually open to some extent this October.
“This means that occupants of the series of new tower blocks built by developers Menta in the Addiscombe area [on the east] will have to cross over the bridge to the west to buy tickets or tap in before doing a U-turn and fighting their way back through the crowd if they’re using platforms on the east,”
says Steven Downes, editor of Inside Croydon online newsletter.
That’s utterly ridiculous, and will create real congestion during rush hour at such a busy station. Croydon council really needs to insist that Network Rail put in the required barriers.”
Network Rail “has run out of money” for ticket barriers, but station employees concur with Smith and Downes that “there is absolutely no logic to the plan.”
They ignore the fact that the 12-year-old bridge, which is already very dilapidated and has multiple missing floor tiles, obviously needs “remedial work” before it can eventually open to the east. He is informed that the fenced-off area is solely used by employees of a local café who come there for vape breaks.
Croydon council decided to spend £6 million of public funds on a new footbridge that would connect office buildings at Lansdowne Road in the west with the planned residential tower blocks on the east side of East Croydon station as part of plans for Croydon’s extensive revitalization as a commuter town, which will include a new shopping center and a hoped-for hipster café culture.
Transport for London (TfL) agreed to invest £4.4 million and Network Rail £10 million in the bridge. Menta Developments CEO Craig Marks agreed to invest £2.3 million to construct a pavement link and steps leading up to the bridge connecting their two planned towers (as well as a projected 54-story residential complex known as the “Mental” tower) on Cherry Orchard Road.
Then, Jason Perry, a Conservative councillor who is now mayor, told the Croydon Advertiser that the “enormously valuable” new structure would be for station users, reducing traffic and encouraging new development in the region.
“But the fly in the ointment was Croydon council’s planning department,” says Downes.
“When giving permission for the bridge and the development on the east side, it appears nobody thought it would be a good idea to give Menta a deadline for improving their access link on Cherry Orchard Road. It was all left open-ended.”
“Until the Menta scheme delivers the link bridge, there would be a circa 16-meter physical gap” between the new Network Rail bridge and the old walkway, according to a council study.
It was suggested that the London Borough of Croydon (LBC), TfL, and Network Rail finance the construction of a temporary link bridge that would, in the worst case scenario, cost £2.7 million and last for 15 years, on the grounds that this “would seriously compromise” the goals of the investments made by the companies. In the end, this was averted.
As station construction work started, the historic underpasses beneath the north end of East Croydon station—suitable for people who can’t use steps—were frequently closed.
Designed by Hawkins-Brown and Studio Egret West, the Lego-like white and yellow bridge was put into place in November 2012. For simplicity of transportation, the structure, which was 700 tonnes in weight and 100 meters long, was constructed in ten prefabricated sections and put together on a nearby station site.
In order to avoid frightening oncoming train drivers, the bridge was built as slowly as possible over the course of 22 hours on a Sunday in November. Its yellow portions were meant to add “joy” to pedestrians’ lives.
The bridge only offered connecting access between platforms when it opened to the public in January; it lacked east and west exits.
Those coming from Gatwick airport found it difficult to climb the steep steps and carry their bags to the top, only to discover that there was no exit on either the east or west side (despite the fact that there were no signs alerting them that it just connected the platforms).
To return to the street, they would then need to drag their bags back down the stairs and continue to the station’s southern end. December 2013 saw the opening of the western exit.
Along Cherry Orchard Road, Menta constructed six residential tower blocks, one of which had social and cheap housing on the opposite side of the street. The “Mental” skyscraper project was shelved.
A report about the bridge’s slick surface, which was partially exposed to the weather, was published by Inside Croydon in 2018.
A new planning consent was obtained in 2019, and Craig Marks of Menta declared in 2023 that he had finally placed the bridge link to Cherry Orchard Road into service. The link was prepared for attachment to the remainder of the bridge by March 2024.
But the bridge wasn’t open. Teachers from the local primary school said
“it was a relief when things finally got built… it was an ugly mess for years with the whole thing boarded up”.
According to Jeremy Fitzpatrick, the former Labour councillor for Addiscombe West, representatives from Croydon council, Menta, and Network Rail committed to respond to community issues at the East Croydon Community Organisation’s (ECCO) 2024 annual meeting in July.
About 100 locals found out at this point that no one would accept financial or legal responsibility for the connection between Cherry Orchard Road and that, following 11 years of inactivity, the bridge needed extensive maintenance to be safe. One side would have to take on the burden of significant continuing upkeep once that work was finished.
The committee was informed by a representative of Network Rail that although this had been put out to tender, the bids that were received for the job were more than they were willing to pay. The contract was retendered as a result, which meant that the problem would not be settled until well into 2025 at the latest.
Network Rail and Croydon Council both admitted that their public relations efforts had been “inadequate” and pledged to improve going forward.
When Fitzpatrick inquired about whether ticket barriers would be installed at the east exit, “they dropped the bombshell that it would not.” According to a representative for Network Rail, the cost of installing and staffing those obstacles would be prohibitive.
Menta ultimately constructed an open courtyard with silver birch trees to provide access to the bridge, which is visible to Addiscombe neighbors through a metal fence. In blossom-pink caps, a designer has tried to add some urban poetry to the side of one of the towers that border the steps.
It yells, “A THOUSAND MEMORIES CASCADE FROM TREE TO TREE.” But until at least October, the only things that will leave a lasting impression are the trees and the occasional worker.
“It’s absurd that we still can’t use the bridge – and even more absurd that we’re not getting ticket gates at this end,”
a tower resident tells me. I don’t think Network Rail is unable to pay for them. Regarding the crew, it seems like there are always ten or so men on that bridge, particularly in the evening.
Flyers urging Network Rail to “LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY and PROVIDE A TICKET GATE at the top of the Cherry Orchard Road stairs” are being distributed by Jeremy Fitzpatrick at the western end of the bridge.
In order to join the roughly 1300 people who have already signed the petition demanding for ticket gates at the east end of the bridge, commuters are encouraged by the former councilman barrister to scan a QR code on the leaflet.
A spokesman for Network Rail says that:
“The original consent and funding was for ticket gates on the west end of the bridge. Should funding become available in future we would be happy to consider gates on the east end. For now, the bridge will still be a quicker route into East Croydon for people who live nearby.”
When pushed for a figure on how much ticket gates and staffing would cost, he explained that: “There’s no set figure for how much a gate is.” Adding an entrance to a station suddenly brings in lots of other aspects, including staffing and revenue risk too.
He adds:
“Network Rail is finalising plans for the bridge, which includes works to repair the surfaces and now introduces new balustrading and new partitioning to the public and passenger side. The full length of the bridge will open later this year.”
Labour MP Natasha Irons (first elected in July 2024) says she has been “badgering” Network Rail and the council to get the bridge finished. She said that she has written to the mayor, Jason Perry, and to the council.
Sarah Jones [MP for Croydon West on the other side of the bridge] and she met with Network Rail staff at the bridge and you can see it has been built to have a ticket gate at the east end. It’s stupid not to put one in. But Network Rail will always say they don’t have any money – because they don’t.
A spokesperson for Croydon council said that they fully understand and share our residents’ frustrations about the delays in the opening of the footbridge linking the east and west side of East Croydon Station.
They are pretty clear we would like the ticket barrier [at the east exit] and are continuing to pursue this with Network Rail.
Menta CEO Craig Marks stresses that Menta has met all of its obligations, “at no cost to Croydon or Network rail, and will be maintaining the entrance area on our land in perpetuity, including the new lift access we have also delivered in that area to the Network Rail (NR) bridge.
They have invested around £2m in constructing the “link piece” to connect to the NR bridge and intend to donate this also at no cost to Network Rail when the bridge is opened.”
A savvy student at the Fairfield School of Business (located opposite the east exit) tells me:
“For 13 years, the council, Menta, Network Rail and government have all just gone round in circles blaming each other for the situation.”
She shrugs and confides:
“Call me a cynic, but I think the mayor just wants to push everything through as quickly as possible now, so the bridge is open in any form before the next mayoral elections in 2026.”
Steven Downes agrees.
“It will open without those gates. A classic example of spoiling the ship for a ha’porth of tar.”
Why has the Croydon bridge to nowhere remained useful for 12 years?
When the bridge was built, the developer, Menta (previously Redrow), did not provide Croydon Council, Network Rail, and Transport for London a strong legal commitment to offer access from the Cherry Orchard Road side. This essentially prevented the bridge’s full usage by allowing the developer to postpone for years the completion of the required access infrastructure.
Menta has used the property for temporary marketing offices without obtaining planning clearance, instead of beginning the projected large-scale residential development. The project has been further delayed by the developer’s tardiness in finishing the access route.
Network Rail claimed it did not have the funds to install ticket gates and properly maintain the bridge, even after the access route was eventually constructed. The bridge cannot offer complete station access without ticket gates.