The consultation event will be held in two sessions, from 2pm-5pm and from 6.30pm-9pm on Wednesday 11th January 2012.

As part of the plans for a supermarket at the junction of Trent Lane and Daleside Road, Sneinton Alchemy lobbied Network Rail to get involved in improving the rail crossing at Trent Lane. This is a key link between the residential areas of Sneinton and the River Trent/Colwick Lakes area. When the Trent Basin area is finally developed, Trent Lane will be the main access linking north and south Sneinton together.

As a further feature of this crossing, the current layout makes a break in the Green Way track, with users having to descend to the level of the railway, cross the tracks, and go back up the other side. A new crossing, if well designed, has the potential to link the Green Way up again and make it a more useable route.

Unfortunately Network Rail did not take Sneinton Alchemy up on its offer ensure good community involvement in the design of the new crossing, so it will be particularly important that the community has its say now on what Network Rail has come up with.

The situation at Meadow Lane is very different- the Green Way here has its own bridge and the level crossing is relatively safe and easy for pedestrians and cyclists alike as it is protected by barriers controlled from the manned signal box. It is hard to see how a pedestrian bridge here will improve accessibility for Sneinton people, with Network Rail probably more concerned with removing the manned signal box to make their operation more efficient.

These railway crossings probably don't seem like something that will make much difference to Sneinton, but in fact the links between Sneinton and surrounding areas have an enormous potential to improve the area for all of us, giving us better access to facilities such as the Lady Bay retail park and Colwick Lakes.