CRAVEN'S biggest developer could answer the prayers of South Craven commuters by funding a £6 million bridge over Kildwick railway crossing.

But the bridge will come at a price, for in return Skipton Properties' managing director Brian Verity wants to build on 30 acres of green field land between the crossing and Eastburn Beck.

The level crossing is closed for up to 40 minutes in every hour causing tailbacks which sometimes spill on to the Aire Valley trunk road.

Mr Verity told the Herald he had drawn up a scheme to put to Craven District Council planners and local councillors after being involved in talks over the past four years.

He said: "We believe now we have got a scheme that will work. Thirty acres of green grass will go, as long as people will accept that, this can happen.

"There is a scheme which we are going to take to all the powers that be as soon as a meeting can be arranged.

"Some people will like it; some people won't, but one thing is for sure, you are not going to get a bridge out of the Government, whether local or national, at least not in the next 10 years."

Mr Verity added: "There is a price to pay and it is more development."

The land he proposes to develop belongs to Brian Kidd, who owns Ashfield Farm, in Cross Hills.

Mr Kidd, who is retired, already has planning permission to build eight homes on the site, but is "sitting on the fence" waiting to see if the new plans are of interest to the local authority.

Mr Kidd has lived in the area all his life and is well aware of the traffic situation. He said: "I think this is the answer. I am quite open to this really, it is the only solution. If the powers that be don't want to study this plan, we're off down the line of what we have planning permission for. It is as simple as that."

The railway crossing has blighted the lives of South Craven residents for years, with calls to resolve the "diabolical" effects of the barrier being down for up to 50 minutes in every hour to accommodate 200 trains a day. Queues of traffic can stretch back as far as Steeton, and the knock-on effect is gridlocked traffic piling up on the alternative route of Station Road into Cross Hills.

But chairman of Glusburn Parish Council, Coun Roger Nicholson, doesn't feel the bridge is the solution to Cross Hills' traffic problems.

"The bridge won't serve any purpose for Cross Hills. I heard Mr Verity was talking about building a railway station as well. That would be more difficult to refuse.

"All the bridge could do is help the Highways Agency by alleviating traffic on Kildwick roundabout and allowing more trains without permanently blocking the A6068."

South Craven county councillor Philip Barrett added: "I support looking at all options for bridging the level crossing to overcome the totally unacceptable delays it causes, because it has been made abundantly clear that there is no funding available through the county council's Local Transport Plan in the foreseeable future.

"However, having said that, it must be borne in mind that whilst bridging the railway would be a major step forward towards the possibility of reopening the railway station, and would overcome the major traffic congestion it currently causes, it wouldn't on its own solve the wider traffic issues in South Craven.

"These include issues such as the need for a HGV weight restriction on the A6068 between Cross Hills and Lancashire and addressing the major traffic generation caused by South Craven School."

And fellow county councillor Mark Wheeler said: "With the possibility of the bridging scheme being funded by North Yorkshire County Council through the Local Transport Plan even further away, then we should give serious consideration to any private initiative that comes forward.

"If this scheme is financially viable and a realistic solution to alleviate the misery of all who suffer the frequent gridlock, let's investigate it further."