News Releases
Plans revealed for navvy memorial
Campaigners hoping to reopen a disused West Yorkshire railway tunnel as part of a new cycle route have unveiled plans for a memorial to the ten men known to have died during its construction.
Work on Queensbury Tunnel, between Bradford and Halifax, began in May 1874 when navvies started to sink a shaft close to its north end. Around 600 men were employed on the project which involved the excavation of 180,000 cubic yards of rock as well as the manufacture and placement of over seven million bricks to form the arch.
Progress was significantly delayed by the volume of groundwater entering the workings. Pumps at five of the seven construction shafts removed 63,000 gallons of water every hour. The 1.4-mile long engineering feat was eventually completed in July 1878, more than two years after the date specified in the contract.
The greatest cost was borne by the workforce; dozens of appalling injuries were overshadowed by ten deaths. The youngest casualty, 25-year-old Frederick Goulding, was crushed between a wagon and a large timber; the oldest was John Swire, 44, who was run over by wagons in the tunnel’s southern approach cutting. Newlywed Captain Pickles was the last to lose his life in June 1877 when he was struck on the head by a half-ton roof support. Others succumbed to explosions, drownings and falls at the shafts.
To commemorate the navvies, the Queensbury Tunnel Society plans to erect a memorial comprising two rows of railway sleepers - one for each of the ten men - which will stand either side of the path connecting the Great Northern Railway Trail to the tunnel entrance. The Society has received an offer of help from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and is also exploring the practicality of salvaging a collection of sleepers from a tunnel on the former Bradford to Thornton line.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Society, said: “The experiences of these men are beyond the comprehension of anyone in the 21st Century. Although they were paid comparatively well, the risks they faced were overwhelming. Every shift could realistically be their last.
“Of the navvies involved in construction, one in every 60 lost their lives; even more would have suffered life-changing injuries. And every accident brought with it the threat of destitution for the family as there was no financial support from the companies involved
"Although there were basic safeguards, health and safety simply didn’t exist as we now know it. Almost every construction activity was perilous - the use of explosives, excavating rock overhead; it was very difficult to control the risks associated with tunnelling in the Victorian era.
“What we fail to appreciate when we’re sitting in comfort on today’s modern trains is that the infrastructure we’re travelling on, through or over was mostly built 140+ years ago. We owe these men a huge debt for their determination in gifting us our railway network against the odds. The very least we can do is pause to reflect on the sacrifices they made.
“Hopefully our memorial will serve as a focus for those reflections.”
Queensbury Tunnel has been surrounded by controversy since Highways England - who manage it on the Department for Transport’s behalf - announced plans for a partial infilling scheme prompted by perceived safety concerns. The cost is likely to exceed £7 million; more than £5 million has already been committed to preparatory works. A planning application, which has not yet been determined, has attracted more than 7,250 objections.
According to a recent study, a Bradford-Halifax Greenway - passing through the tunnel - would cost around £16 million to construct and return £5.60 in social and economic benefits for every £1 invested, representing high value for money.
“It would be a travesty if a hard-won piece of infrastructure - with a viable and positive future role to play - was lost on the whim of distant officials who seem to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing”, said Dr McWilliam. “It’s not Westminster’s to destroy. We can’t let them do it.”
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Issued 8th December 2020 |
Tunnels works delayed as costs soar
The cost of a project to shore up a shaft in a disused railway tunnel has risen by 25% to more than £1 million despite the “essential” works not having started, weeks after they were meant to finish.
Highways England manages the 1.4-mile long Queensbury Tunnel in West Yorkshire on behalf of the Department for Transport. Their plans to abandon the Victorian structure - prompted by perceived safety concerns - are opposed by cycling and environmental campaigners, heritage groups and the local authorities at either end who hope to incorporate it into a new greenway connecting Bradford and Halifax.
Earlier this year, contractors installed strengthening at three shafts in the tunnel, but were unable to do so at a fourth due to floodwater which inundated the structure after Highways England failed to pay the £50 annual rent on a pumping station, resulting in the facility being shut down. According to a spokesperson for the Government-owned company, the work is “now essential”.
In July, it revealed plans for divers to fit bags below the shaft and fill them with grout pumped from the dry part of the tunnel, 500 metres away. Preparations started in August, with the main phase due to finish in September. However work has not yet started due to a ‘concept redesign’ and logistical constraints. The estimated cost has risen by £100K to £863K, whilst additional investigations and minor works at the shaft have taken the overall bill to £1,013,177.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “Back in August, the landowner offered to restart the pumping station for a partial dewatering of the tunnel, allowing Highways England to install the same type of strengthening used at the other shafts, cutting the cost of the scheme to about £200K.
“Although they haven’t informed him formally, the landowner’s offer has apparently been rejected because of conditions which were intended to prevent Highways England carrying out unauthorised abandonment works - as they did at another shaft last year - under emergency powers that are not applicable at Queensbury because of the Environmental Impact Assessment covering the scheme.
“The landowner offered to discuss the conditions with Highways England, but they’ve just ignored him. Since then his agent has written to the Department for Transport to make clear their willingness to find a way forward. That letter’s been ignored too.”
Graeme Bickerdike, Engineering Coordinator for the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “The support structure at the bottom of this shaft is in Fair condition and showing no meaningful signs of distress, so we don’t currently accept any need for these works.
“However, if Highways England genuinely believes that strengthening is ‘now essential’, the delays must be compromising public safety. Had they accepted the landowner’s offer - which they could and should have done - the work would have been finished weeks ago at a fraction of the cost.
“Instead they’re pushing ahead with a difficult scheme - now expected to take three months - which will expose the contractor’s workforce to significantly heightened risk, working within and above 4.6 metres of floodwater in a confined space with poor ventilation. They wouldn’t need to spend £42,328 to have a safety boat and rescue team on standby in the tunnel if they’d done the sensible thing and accepted the proposal to partially dewater it.
“It’s a shambolic situation. Highways England and the DfT keep insisting that safety is their main priority, but their actions suggest otherwise. Unfortunately the officials making these decisions are not sufficiently scrutinised and accountable.”
The shaft project has driven the cost of abandonment preparatory works to more than £5.2 million, almost ten times the original figure. The main phase - which is contracted to cost £3 million - requires planning permission but, so far, more than 7,200 people have submitted objections. In 2018, consultants commissioned by Bradford Council estimated the tunnel’s repair cost at £6.9 million.
The Government has committed £1 million to technical and feasibility studies looking at the works needed to safely reopen Queensbury Tunnel and the development of a sustainable transport corridor connecting Bradford, Halifax and Keighley. Their precise scope was recently agreed by officials from Bradford and Calderdale councils, the Department for Transport, Highways England and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, with completion expected by March next year.
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Issued 24th November 2020 |
Problems push tunnel closure cost over £5 million
Exactly two years after contractors began work on the abandonment of a disused railway tunnel in West Yorkshire, preparatory works have not yet been completed and costs have almost tripled.
Queensbury Tunnel, between Bradford and Halifax, has been surrounded by controversy since its custodian, Highways England, confirmed plans to partially infill it in 2016 when the outlay was estimated at £2.7 million. Meanwhile campaigners - backed by cycling, environmental and heritage groups, and the neighbouring local authorities - want to see the 1.4-mile long Victorian structure repaired to form part of a greenway connecting two of Yorkshire’s biggest population centres.
An initial phase of strengthening works, costed at £545K, was due to start at the southern end of the tunnel in September 2018, but had to be replanned after a pumping station there - which kept the structure dewatered - was switched off due to Highways England failing to pay the £50 annual rent.
Temporary pumping equipment was deployed at the north end and, by September 2019, contractor AMCO-Giffen had strengthened the tunnel below three shafts and through a 300-metre long section which had previously been regarded as too dangerous to enter. However the workforce was then forced to withdraw after six days of torrential rain caused the floodwater to return to its original level.
Graeme Bickerdike, Engineering Co-ordinator for the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “The tunnel has suffered from high levels of water ingress since the time of its construction, so the loss of the pumping station proved calamitous from a planning and logistical perspective. Highways England has effectively lost control of this project, as evidenced by the lack of progress and increasing sums being spent. According to the contract, abandonment was due to be completed by 31st October 2019 and yet they’re still struggling to finish the preparatory works.
“Whilst it was not a party to the lease on the pumping station, Highways England was obliged to pay the £50 rent every year under the terms of a Protocol Agreement with the Department for Transport, which sets out its duties in relation to Queensbury Tunnel and 3,200 other disused structures. It’s told a lot of half-truths in an effort to conceal that reality.
“The past two years have shown just how crucial the pumping station is for the effective management of the tunnel, yet Highways England has still not entered into dialogue with the landowner about recommissioning it. The taxpayer has paid a considerable price for that.”
Today, more than £5 million has been committed to the preparatory works, with a further £2.7 million allocated for expenditure on the tunnel over the remainder of this financial year. Highways England’s engineering consultant, Jacobs, has also been paid £236K for technical studies and the development of a planning application for the abandonment scheme which has so far attracted more than 7,150 objections.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “It’s been an extraordinary couple of years during which the climate around the tunnel has changed noticeably. Even the Department for Transport, which owns it, is beginning to recognise the structure’s value as an asset for future transport provision.
“If the Government is seriously committed to getting more of us walking and cycling in a post-Covid world, segregated infrastructure will have to be constructed. We cannot continue to kill 100 cyclists on our roads every year; bikes and motor vehicles do not mix.
“There is a way forward for the tunnel which benefits everyone. Instead of pursuing a wasteful and unnecessary abandonment scheme - which is exposing the contractor’s workforce to increasingly high levels of risk - why doesn’t Highways England become a positive partner in the effort to build a case for its rehabilitation? Doing so would make more likely the prospect of the company being discharged of all responsibility for it.
“Queensbury Tunnel doesn’t have to be a burden around the taxpayer’s neck; it could pay a return on our investment through social, economic and tourism benefits.”
In July, the Government announced a £1 million funding package to develop a business case for a greenway connecting Bradford District to Calderdale, half of which has been given to Highways England to consider the engineering requirements and costs associated with making Queensbury Tunnel safe for any future repurposing.
“That’s a huge amount of money”, said Dr McWilliam. “We’re obviously keen that it’s spent wisely so the greatest possible value and insight are derived from it.”
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To link to a video on the tunnel's abandonment or embed it on your webpage:
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To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
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A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
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Media enquiries:
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Issued 1st October 2020 |
Tunnel group condemns disjointed government
Campaigners have expressed their exasperation after contractors started to infill part of a disused railway tunnel which the Government and local councils want to see reborn as part of an active travel route.
The 1.4-mile long Queensbury Tunnel, between Bradford and Halifax, has been at the centre of a longstanding battle to prevent its custodian, Highways England, abandoning the Victorian structure due to perceived safety concerns.
Last month, the Department for Transport committed £1 million to developing a business case for a Bradford-Halifax Greenway, passing through the tunnel. Announcing the funding on 14 July, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the money would “enable us to see just how the Queensbury Tunnel - an iconic element of the region’s landscape - could be redeveloped as a green transport link.” He went on to state that the greenway would help “to improve connectivity in an environmentally friendly way while being a source of pleasure for generations of cyclists and walkers to come.”
But it has now emerged that, the day before Shapps’ announcement, Highways England began work to create a concrete plug below a ventilation shaft - blocking the tunnel - despite still not having planning permission for its abandonment scheme. Almost 7,000 people have so far submitted objections.
Graeme Bickerdike, Engineering Coordinator for the Queensbury Tunnel Society, says: “This shaft is in the best condition of the seven sunk during the tunnel’s construction in the 1870s. It benefits from reinforced concrete frames which - although partly degraded - transfer much of the load from the shaft’s lining into the surrounding rock.
“The brickwork is in good condition and there’s no sign of the tunnel lining below the shaft showing any meaningful signs of distress. So there’s no evidence to suggest any need for short-term support or strengthening.
“This is just the latest example of Highways England attempting to circumvent planning regulations to make progress with an abandonment scheme it cannot justify but is determined to impose.”
Highways England has received half of the £1 million business case funding to look at the engineering requirements and costs of making the tunnel safe for any future reuse. It’s understood that the latest works are costing more than the £575,000 spent on strengthening at three other shafts earlier in the year. More than £4 million has already been spent on preparatory works for abandonment.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “The situation is beyond ridiculous. Highways England has been given a huge amount of money to undertake a study into the tunnel’s repurposing for active travel and, at the same time, is unnecessarily spending an even greater sum filling part of it in, making the job of reopening more difficult and costly.
“It’s an embarrassing example of disjointed government. At a political level, the DfT is showing increasing commitment to walking and cycling, and the Secretary of State clearly recognises the value of a greenway connecting two large population centres via the tunnel. And yet a tiny number of officials within the Department and a body acting on its behalf are hell-bent on thwarting a positive outcome for Queensbury Tunnel which would see it deliver social, economic and tourism benefits for generations to come.
“No prejudicial work should be carried out until the business case has been completed and evaluated, and planning permission granted. Prematurely infilling the tunnel below the shaft is another irresponsible act of vandalism on Highway England’s part.”
The Society has urged Bradford Council to take immediate enforcement action to halt the current project. When one of the tunnel’s other shafts was infilled under emergency powers last October, the Council’s legal team subsequently told Highways England that, in its view, the work required planning permission.
In July, the Government announced its ‘bold vision for cycling and walking’ - a £2 billion investment to pay for thousands of miles of protected bike lanes and transform the role active travel can play in our transport system.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
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To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Issued 2nd August 2020 |
Campaigners question Government’s active travel commitment
In March, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a £2 billion investment to build on the unprecedented 70% increase in cycling seen in some parts of the UK during the coronavirus lockdown.
Announcing a summer launch to an updated version of the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, Shapps said that “We know cars will continue to remain vital for many, but as we look to the future we must build a better country with greener travel habits, cleaner air and healthier communities.”
But a campaign group in West Yorkshire believes those words ring hollow after the Department for Transport (DfT) offered only a fraction of the funding needed to construct a greenway between two of the county’s biggest population centres via a 1.4-mile long disused railway tunnel.
For the past seven years, the Queensbury Tunnel Society (QTS) has been working with local councils, cycling groups and environmentalists to make the case for ‘an iconic route’ linking Bradford with Halifax and the Calder valley. It believes the greenway would offer a realistic long-term alternative to steep, congested roads for the 14,300 commuters who travel daily between the two conurbations, as well as helping communities beset with health problems and stimulating the local economy by drawing more tourists into the area.
A new assessment of the greenway’s likely value, released today by Bradford Council, concludes that it would return £5.60 in social and economic benefits for every £1 invested. That figure increases further when leisure and tourism is also factored in. “The numbers are exceptionally good”, says Norah McWilliam, the Society’s leader, “and represent very high value for money”.
The Council expects the full eight-mile scheme to cost around £27 million, accounting for 30 years of maintenance, the tunnel’s repair and the removal of around 2,000 tonnes of stone from one of its ventilation shafts which was tipped in last October during an intervention which the Council believes required planning permission.
Highways England, who manage Queensbury Tunnel for the DfT, is currently pursuing plans to formally abandon the Victorian structure which took four years to build with the loss of ten navvies. First costed at £2.7 million in 2016, the scheme is now expected to set the taxpayer back £7 million.
Grant Shapps first showed an interest in the project last year when he instructed DfT officials to work with Bradford Council to look at other options to abandonment and, if possible, find a viable way forward. In March he told Bradford’s local paper that he had “specifically prevented” the tunnel being filled in and would “work with local leaders…to come up with a better solution.” However last week the Council received a “best and final offer” of £4 million which wouldn’t cover 60% of the tunnel repair costs. It was given just four days to respond.
Now the Society has written an open letter to Mr Shapps in which it states that the funding offer “caused deep dismay and bewilderment” to thousands of supporters who had been “expecting something a good deal more positive”, based on his previous comments.
Dr McWilliam asserts that Shapps’ offer “calls into question the Government’s commitment to active travel and its intention to level up infrastructure and regenerate local economies”.
She goes on to say that “£4 million has already been spent on strengthening works to parts of the tunnel; a further £3 million would be needed to complete its abandonment, subject to planning permission. It is inexplicable that you seem content to spend public money destroying a magnificent piece of Yorkshire’s industrial heritage rather than supporting positive plans for a greenway that would reduce congestion in the long term, help communities beset with health problems, attract tourists and stimulate local businesses.”
The Society has urged the Transport Secretary to allocate a sufficient sum from the Government’s £2 billion active travel fund to give Bradford Council the confidence to take on the tunnel’s ownership and construct a cycle route through it. Doing so, it argues, would support policies for healthy active travel, mitigating climate change and ‘levelling’ of northern economies.
Despite the deadline having passed for accepting its £4 million offer, the DfT has said it is still in discussions with Bradford Council over the tunnel’s future.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
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To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Issued 25th June 2020 |
Tunnel works bill hits £4 million
The cost of preparatory works for the abandonment of a disused railway tunnel in West Yorkshire has passed the £4 million mark, more than seven times the original estimate.
In May 2019, Highways England submitted a planning application to infill 12% of Queensbury Tunnel - which extends for 1.4 miles between Bradford and Halifax - due to perceived safety concerns. A year later, the application has not yet been determined as Bradford Council is still waiting for the submission of information requested by consultees. To date, more than 6,470 people have lodged objections via the Council’s planning portal.
Last year, Highway England spent £3.44 million on an initial phase of preparatory works involving the installation of steel reinforcement panels at a number of locations through the tunnel. The programme was original costed at £545,000, but this figure rose significantly after the company failed to pay the £50 annual rent on a pumping station at the Halifax end of the tunnel, resulting in the need for a temporary dewatering operation which cost around £1.2 million.
Under its agreement with the Department for Transport to cover the management of around 3,200 disused railway structures, including Queensbury Tunnel, Highways England is responsible for meeting “all costs associated with the property”. It claimed that the rent demands for the pumping station never reached its team for payment due to what it described as “a simple but unfortunate administrative error”. However, under the terms of the associated lease, the rent should have been paid “whether formally demanded or not”.
In March, contractor AMCO-Giffen returned to the tunnel to spray 45 metres of the steel reinforcement panels with concrete. According to a letter written by Highways England’s Operations Executive Director to Shipley MP Philip Davies, these new works will cost “an estimated £585,000”, taking the total bill so far to £4.02 million.
Meanwhile Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who owns the tunnel, said in March that he had “specifically prevented” it from being infilled and instead wanted to work with local leaders to come up with “a better solution”. Bradford and Calderdale councils, together with a number of other bodies including the Queensbury Tunnel Society, want the Victorian structure repurposed as the centrepiece of a greenway linking the two districts. A study has found that the route would return £2.31 for every £1 invested, offering “high value for money”.
The contracted cost for abandonment was set at £3.56 million in 2018 but, if planning permission is granted, could now exceed £7 million. Consultants commissioned by Bradford Council have costed the tunnel’s repair to accommodate the greenway at £6.9 million.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “These are eye-watering sums of public money which Highways England continues to fritter away on abandonment despite Grant Shapps clearly stating that he has rejected the official advice to fill it in.
“One thing we’ve learned from the coronavirus crisis is the public’s underlying appetite to embrace active travel and enjoy the environmental benefits offered by leaving our cars at home. Clean air and green space are valuable commodities if we’re to successfully tackle the health challenges facing us.
“People have taken to foot and bike in huge numbers over the past few weeks, but the opportunity to secure permanent change depends on the provision of safe off-road routes. Queensbury Tunnel is a unique strategic connector providing a green alternative to a heavily congested, steep main road connecting two districts. We cannot afford to lose it.”
It’s expected that an updated version of the government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy will be launched this summer, with further measures to encourage the use of active travel by establishing a long-term budget for investment and setting higher infrastructure standards. A national Cycling and Walking Commissioner will also be appointed.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
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To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Issued 3rd June 2020 |
Tunnel works resume despite lockdown
Whilst many construction sites have closed to comply with social distancing rules, Highways England has just begun a new programme of works in a disused West Yorkshire railway tunnel which has been at the centre of longstanding controversy over its future.
In May last year, the company submitted a planning application to infill parts of Queensbury Tunnel due to perceived safety concerns. Meanwhile its owner, the Department for Transport, is cooperating with Bradford Council on plans to reopening the structure as the centrepiece of a greenway connecting the city with Halifax. As a result, the Council has not yet determined the planning application which, so far, has attracted more than 6,400 objections.
Preparatory works for the infilling scheme started in October 2018 but the contractor, AMCO-Giffen, demobilised the site last October after a period of persistent heavy rain caused serious flooding in the tunnel. By that stage, the £550K cost had risen to more than £3.4 million. Work has been suspended for the past six months, but on Tuesday (14th April) the contractor returned and has since had staff working in the tunnel around the clock.
Graeme Bickerdike, Engineering Co-ordinator for the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “According to Highways England’s own engineer, the tunnel’s shafts are ‘safe’ and several hundred metres of its most vulnerable sections were strengthened with steel reinforcement mesh last year. So there is nothing about the tunnel’s current condition to justify any intervention at this time.
“The precise nature of the planned works has not yet been confirmed, but there’s really nothing left to do that’s not part of the main abandonment scheme. In the absence of a clear statement to the contrary from Highways England, we therefore have to presume they are intending to undertake works for which they have sought - but not yet received - planning permission.”
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “It’s irresponsible of Highways England to begin a phase of non-essential works during the coronavirus lockdown, requiring its contractor to manage the additional requirements of social distancing within the confined space of the tunnel, the site cabins and in vans travelling to and from site.
“These works are unwelcome, unnecessary, premature and no doubt place another significant cost burden on the taxpayer’s shoulders. Highways England recently assured us that they would not undertake any works which might be prejudicial to the tunnel’s reopening until a decision over its future had been reached. This week’s events suggest bad faith; all activity in the tunnel should be halted immediately.”
The Society has written to Highways England, asking for details about the planned works, their cost and why they are deemed so urgent that they could not be deferred until discussions over the tunnel’s future are concluded and the coronavirus lockdown eased.
Last month, Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, told Bradford’s Telegraph & Argus newspaper that he had “specifically prevented” the tunnel being infilled and instead instructed DfT officials to find a way of bringing it back into use, working with local leaders.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
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To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Issued 16th April 2020 |
Tunnel camera prompts claim of waste
Campaigners have condemned Highways England for spending almost five thousand pounds of taxpayers’ money every week on a CCTV camera in a disused railway tunnel.
The Victorian structure, which extends for 1.4 miles beneath Queensbury in West Yorkshire, has been at the centre of a longstanding battle over its future. Campaigners believe it should be restored for public use as part of a greenway connecting Bradford and Halifax, a view supported by the councils at both ends. However Highways England, who manage the tunnel for the Department for Transport, is seeking planning permission to fill parts of it in due to perceived safety concerns. The project is likely to cost around £7 million.
Contractor AMCO-Giffen spent much of last year undertaking preparatory works inside the tunnel but withdrew most of its equipment in early October after six days of persistent heavy rain caused floodwater to reach the tunnel’s midpoint. Since then, works have been suspended. But Highways England is continuing to fund the operation of a generator, lighting and CCTV camera system to record anyone attempting to enter the tunnel. Locals have reported clouds of blue smoke coming from the generator’s exhaust and the smell of burning fuel in the air.
The entrance is protected by 3-metre high steel gates, anti-vandal grease and razor wire. Despite this, two urban explorers were able to get into the tunnel during a two-week period last September when it was left unlocked and unattended for between half-an-hour and 90 minutes most evenings.
According to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the weekly cost of the CCTV operation is £4,704, meaning that the bill since the site was stood down is approaching £100,000.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said “It’s become very clear that Highways England couldn’t care less about how much public money it wastes.
“Last year, about £1.2 million was squandered on pumping floodwater out of the tunnel, but today its level is exactly the same as when they started. Now they’re frittering away tens of thousands of pounds monitoring people supposedly trying to get into a tunnel which has better security than many prisons. If they kept the gates locked, that would be sufficient.
“At what point will Highways England be called to account for this misuse of taxpayers’ money and the unnecessary air pollution they’re causing?”
Meanwhile the planning application for the tunnel’s partial infilling has had to be re-advertised after changes were made to the proposed scheme following controversial works at one of its ventilation shafts last October, carried out under emergency powers. So far, more than 6,300 people have lodged objections to the plans.
It’s now likely that Bradford Council won’t determine the application until May, by which time a decision is expected on a £23 million funding bid for the Bradford-Halifax Greenway - incorporating Queensbury Tunnel - which the West Yorkshire Combined Authority submitted to the government’s Transforming Cities Fund in November.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
(Embed) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LzfdJna0Tno?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Click the icon to download this release as a PDF |
Issued 26th February 2020 |
“Unprecedented” opposition to tunnel abandonment
Campaigners hoping to reopen a disused West Yorkshire railway tunnel as a cycle route have thanked supporters after 6,000 objections were lodged against plans to abandon the structure.
Queensbury Tunnel, connecting Bradford District and Calderdale, is managed on the Department for Transport’s behalf by Highways England who propose to partially infill it due to perceived safety concerns. The work, which involves leaving 88% of the tunnel to collapse, would permanently prevent access for inspection purposes. A planning application for the scheme - which is now expected to cost the taxpayer around £7 million - was published last June.
The Queensbury Tunnel Society believes that the money would be better invested in repairs, restoring the tunnel to a condition suitable for its use as part of a Bradford-Halifax Greenway. In 2018, consultants acting for Bradford Council developed a remediation plan costed at £6.9 million.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Society, said: “There is a ridiculous conflict between the stated aims of the DfT and Highways England who want to encourage more walking and cycling through investment in new active travel routes, but remain intent on the unwarranted destruction of a 1.4-mile long tunnel which could play a crucial, centrepiece role in a strategic link between two large urban centres. As we move towards more sustainable forms of transport, the value of the tunnel as an asset will increase.
“No sound engineering evidence has been provided by Highways England to justify its abandonment scheme, the design of which is driven by budgetary constraints. We’re very grateful to the 6,000 people who have objected to the plans, citing the technical shortcomings and misfit with both local and national planning policies.
“It’s been an unprecedented response and we call on the council to reject Highways England’s application.”
Supported by other stakeholders, Bradford Council has formally endorsed the greenway proposal and worked with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop a £23 million bid to fund construction and long-term maintenance. A decision is expected in the spring. A study by Sustrans suggested that the route would generate £37.6 million in social, economic and tourism benefits over 30 years, returning £2.31 for every £1 spent on it.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP recently told Channel 4 News that “I’m really keen on seeing that very environmentally-friendly tunnel reopened if we can get there” and agreed to visit Queensbury to see it as soon as possible. In November, officials from the Department for Transport met counterparts in Bradford Council to discuss funding options for the tunnel and issues around feasibility.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
(Embed) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LzfdJna0Tno?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Click the icon to download this release as a PDF |
Issued 22nd January 2020 |
Request for tunnel abandonment delay turned down
Highways England has rejected Bradford Council’s request to pause plans for the abandonment of a disused railway tunnel whilst a bid to fund its repair as part of a cycle path scheme is considered by the Department for Transport.
In November, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority included Queensbury Tunnel in its submission to the Transforming Cities Fund for major transport infrastructure investment around the Leeds City Region. WYCA described the structure’s centrepiece role in a proposed Bradford-Halifax Greenway as a “significant opportunity”, providing a viable alternative for the 14,000 people who commute daily between the two districts, mostly by car. A study has suggested that the route would offer high value-for-money, returning £2.31 for every £1 invested in it.
Highways England, who manage Queensbury Tunnel on the Department for Transport’s behalf, have applied for planning permission to abandon it due to perceived safety concerns. However the proposal has met unprecedented opposition, with more than 5,200 objections lodged. Costs have escalated over the past year and are likely to exceed £6.5 million; in 2018, consultants working for Bradford Council costed the tunnel’s repair at £6.9 million.
Following submission of the Transforming Cities bid, planners asked Highways England for consent to push back the determination date for their planning application until 5th May 2020, by which time a decision on funding should have been reached. But Highways England replied that they were “not minded to agree to your extension request and ask that the Council now determine the application.”
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “As the TCF application makes clear, the Bradford-Halifax Greenway is an ambitious proposal which would improve connectivity for communities along that corridor, boost the local economy through tourism and fit with our obligation to address health and air quality issues. It also offers certainty for those living above the tunnel who are faced with the prospect of 88% of it being left to collapse if abandonment goes ahead.
“Rejecting the extension request is another inexplicable act by Highways England. If the funding bid is successful, they could be relieved of all responsibility for the tunnel, something the Department for Transport - as its owner - is keen to achieve. So why are they unwilling to create a little breathing space for decision-making? This attitude amounts to a bloody-minded refusal to look for a positive outcome.”
Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the controversial infilling of one of the tunnel’s ventilation shafts in October 2019. The work relied on powers set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 which were only applicable in an emergency threatening “serious damage to human welfare”.
Material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that a manager from AMCO-Giffen, the abandonment works contractor, emailed Highways England on 3rd October to describe the condition of a refuge in the tunnel’s sidewall, close to the base of No.2 Shaft. He listed a collection of defects including collapsed brickwork, cracking, bulging and mortar loss, all of which had been recorded in photographs of the refuge from 2016 and 2017.
However, based only on a text description, an engineer from Jacobs - who provide professional services to Highways England - concluded that “significant deterioration” had occurred. The potential impact of the refuge’s condition on the shaft was not assessed and, in any case, it did not form part of the shaft’s main support structure.
To help “defend the decision to infill Shaft 2”, the same AMCO-Giffen manager subsequently sent Highways England three brief extracts from an AECOM report about the tunnel, produced for Bradford Council in 2018. The extracts describe the development of minor defects at various locations through the 1.4-mile long tunnel which has seen no substantive maintenance for more than 60 years.
Graeme Bickerdike, Engineering Co-ordinator for the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “The situation at No.2 Shaft had been known about for seven years and although some deterioration had occurred, it was gradual and didn’t come close to threatening ‘serious damage to human welfare’. If they were so worried about it, why hadn’t they implemented the repair designed by Jacobs in 2012?
“The fact that they are scratching around for bits of evidence to justify their actions indicates the shaky grounds on which the decision was made. In an emergency, the evidence should be strong, abundant and unequivocal. This is yet another example of the abandonment team’s inability to assess and communicate risk in a reasonable, proportionate manner. The infilling of the shaft was entirely unwarranted.”
Bradford Council’s planning team have told Jacobs that they “do not accept that the recent works to Shaft 2 do not require planning permission” and that “the Council’s Legal Team will be writing to you separately on this matter”.
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To link to a video on the Bradford-Halifax Greenway or embed it on your webpage:
(Link) https://youtu.be/LzfdJna0Tno
(Embed) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LzfdJna0Tno?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To view the abandonment plans, or object/comment on them:
http://tiny.cc/TunnelPlans
A collection of high-resolution photos for Media use is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/media/imagery.shtml
More general information on the campaign is available from:
www.queensburytunnel.org.uk/
Media enquiries:
media@queensburytunnel.org.uk
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Click the icon to download this release as a PDF |
Issued 3rd January 2020 |
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