WITH Bradford city centre preparing for one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, the only lift in one of its main stations remains out of order.

The lift at Forster Square Station has been out of order for a number of weeks – a situation Bradford Civic Society describes as “completely unacceptable.”

The situation means anyone with mobility issues arriving at the station needs to climb a flight of stairs or take a lengthy detour to use the ramped station access.

The closure is apparently due to damage caused by a recent flood, and a part that needed to be replaced is “not available.”

The Civic Society has written to Northern Rail and Network Rail to criticise the lack of repairs.

Their letter says: “Please can you let us know why this has not been resolved sooner and when Bradfordians can expect a fully accessible, working lift once again?

“We feel this is completely unacceptable for one of the biggest and busiest city centres in the UK – particularly during such a busy trading period.”

City station branded 'absolute disgrace' as entrance and lift remain out of action

After sending the letter, the Society posted an update to Twitter yesterday morning saying: “Network Rail have said that the failed part is no longer available, so they’ve had to source an alternative, which is still under safety testing.

“They are hoping that this may lead to it working again within 48 hours.”

A spokesman for Northern said: “We apologise to any customers who have been inconvenienced following the breakdown of the lift at Bradford Forster Square.

“Recent flooding caused significant damage to the lift and we are working with colleagues at Network Rail to have the damage fixed as soon as possible.”

Forster Square Station is due to undergo a £17.3 million refurbishment, including a new station building, improved security, turning unused rail arches into shops, and providing “better connectivity” with the rest of the city centre. However, even under the most optimistic of predictions, work is unlikely to be complete until December 2021.

The station’s lift was shut for several days this summer after being vandalised, leading to anger among commuters and visitors to the city centre.

Speaking after sending the letter to Northern Rail, Si Cunningham, Chair of the Society, said: “The arrival into Forster Square station creates the worst possible impression of Bradford and now it has become incredibly inaccessible too, thanks to Northern and Network Rail’s inability to fix the passenger lift.

“I know that there are plans to redevelop the station soon, but that’s no excuse for Northern to let it deteriorate when it’s still used by so many people everyday.

“The lift hasn’t worked for weeks, which is totally unacceptable and is causing so much grief for people with mobility issues or buggies.

“Northern are supposed to be operating the new Forster Square station when it’s eventually built – how on earth can we trust them when they can’t even get the basic stuff right?

“It’s worth pointing out that Leeds station has recently has a number of cosmetic improvements stretching into hundreds of millions of pounds. We don’t want a gold roof or diamond toilet seats in Bradford, we just want a lift that works and is open after 7pm.”