Agreed, ramps longer than 5m must be no steeper than 1 in 20, as defined in building regs part M. The existing ramps are definitely steeper than 1:20.
Indeed, I've walked up slopes steeper than 1 in 20, and they prove no trouble for me. But you have to consider more than just your average person, so mobility scooters, wheelchairs, people with reduced mobility, etc. I have a friend who broke an ankle and his vertical movement of his ankle reduced by 2 degrees, now imagine somebody with arthritis who has lost more degree of movement struggling to get up a 1 in 10 or 15 ramp, not easy and potentially painful to them.
The only alternative to the lifts would have been a shallower ramp which would have needed to extend quite a long way along the side of the platforms, which may have necessitated purchasing additional land, removing trees, and potentially causing disruption to the railway during the building process as they would be disturbing the embankment to provide support to the ramp. The lifts to me seem like the most sensible solution, even if it does outwardly to the everyday man look a bit like a waste of money.
