THE demolition of a Grade-II listed railway bridge and village high street closure has been put on hold after intervention by an MP.

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey pitched in to help after Network Rail planned to close Steventon High Street for 10 months from February 16.

The firm wants to raise the level of the bridge across which the High Street runs to make room for new overhead electric wires as part of electrification plans for the Great Western main line.

But after a meeting with Mr Vaizey and Oxfordshire County Council officers on Friday the firm said it had put the plan on ice.

Spokeswoman Victoria Bradley said: “Following a meeting with Ed Vaizey MP, we have put the bridge demolition work at Steventon on hold while we examine possible alternative solutions.”

Villagers have called on the firm to lower the track beneath, rather than raise the bridge.

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