CAMPAIGNERS calling for disabled access to Staveley Railway Station are demanding to know why their bid for funding has been rejected.

In October 2018 Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron nominated Staveley to be put forward for funding as part of the government’s Accessible for All programme.

The programme aims to make railway stations more accessible, including through step-free access.

In his nomination Mr Farron urged rail bosses to introduce an accessible, step-free route to the station by either installing a lift, a ramp or moving the entrance.

Staveley station has no disabled access with the only way to access the platform involving a walk up 41 steps.

Wheelchair user Clare Hale lives near the station but is unable to travel by train because of the steps.

“As a wheelchair user myself, it would be a significant improvement to the quality of my life to be able to use the train with my family on an equal basis to everyone else,” she said.

Mr Farron said he was ‘angry’ to be told his bid for station improvements had been turned down.

“Clare lives just 100 yards away from the station but she can’t use it,” he said.

“You would literally have to be carried up the steps to get to the platform.”

Mr Farron said he will be writing to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to demand Staveley is reconsidered for funding.

“How can you have an entire community which is effectively cut off?” he said.

“It’s simply unacceptable that people in wheelchairs and mums and dads with prams have no accessible route to the platform.”

Mark Atkinson, chief executive at disability charity Scope, noted that 40 per cent of disabled people experience problems using trains.

He added: “From airports to buses we’ve heard too many horror stories of disabled people let down by poor infrastructure, bad service or being treated as an afterthought. This urgently needs to change.

“A genuinely inclusive transport network will make it much easier for disabled people to get to work, see family and be part of their community.”