UPGRADES to a Flintshire town's train station have been branded an "eyesore" by residents.

Work is taking place to shelters, waiting rooms, and toilet facilities at Flint station.

A new seating area is being installed, as is a fully accessible footbridge, which will provide step-free access at Flint for the first time.

However, the new footbridge and lift facilities have not proven popular with everyone in the town. 

After photos of the work were posted on a local community Facebook group, dozens of people commented - sparking a debate on whether the upgrades are in keeping with the character of the town.

(Image: Peter Jones)

One person said: "What an awful desecration of our town's history and heritage, and hardly anyone cares.

"The original bridge was around 120 years old, and yet we allowed them to destroy it and debase our station like this.

"What's next?"

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Others described it as a "monstrosity", "hideous" and an "eyesore". 

However, Network Rail has issued a letter to residents reassuring them that the appearance of the lift will change - with work on it yet to be completed.

What the station will look like when the work is finished. What the station will look like when the work is finished. (Image: Network Rail)

The letter states: "Further to our previous letter regarding work to improve accessibility at Flint station, we have been made aware of some concerns about the appearance of the new bridge we are installing.

"We wanted to write to local residents to explain that we have not yet started to clad the lift shaft in brick and so the current appearance is only the base structure, the final lift shaft will look similar to the visual representation below.

"Listed building consent (Application Reference LBC/000423/23) was granted by Flintshire Council in July 2023 for the Access for All bridge at Flint Station. This application also includes some additional images of the proposed bridge and identifies that the lift towers will include a brick cladding with a lattice design to the bridge deck parapet.

"The appearance you see at present is the support frame that the brick cladding will be added to over the coming weeks. This brick cladding system is explained in more detail within the listed building consent application."