A bid to extend the London-bound platform at Liss station hasn’t hit the buffers despite a funding rejection from East Hampshire District Council.

Liss Parish Council want to extend the platform as part of a placemaking scheme to make the village centre more pleasant for residents and visitors.

An extension would mean less queues and air pollution as the longer eight or 12-carriage trains overhang the platform and block the level crossing.

The traffic, safety and pollution issues causing by idling cars that sometimes wait up to 30 minutes were identified 18 months ago with Network Rail agreeing to produce a feasibility study into extending the ‘up’ platform.

They will also be responsible for design and implementation but they don’t have the money to pay for the extension, so LPC has been seeking funding from other sources to meet the £3.5million cost of the scheme.

Andy Smith, Liss parish councillor, told EHDC at a recent meeting that safety is a problem as vehicles occasionally try and ‘jump’ the level crossing when the barriers are coming down.

But the council turned down a £500,000 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) application, saying the bid did not demonstrate “how the project benefited growth in East Hampshire outside the South Downs National Park.

Their documents also called the bid “premature” but acknowledged it “could be a project in the future if supported with sufficient evidence.”

Keith Budden, LPC chairman, called the decision “disappointing” but insists the the parish council will explore other forms of funding, having allocated £50,000 of its own CIL funding to the scheme.

“It’s not a showstopper and we’re obviously hoping we’ll get funding from the South Downs National Park and we’ll explore what other funding might be available,” said Cllr Budden, adding the scheme would benefit rail users in Whitehill & Bordon.