Campaigners have welcomed a Government commitment to hand the custodianship of 3,100 legacy bridges, tunnels and viaducts to Great British Railways, the body expected to take over the operation of most of Britain’s rail infrastructure and passenger services next year.
Collectively known as the Historical Railways Estate, the structures were transferred to the Department for Transport in 2013 after British Railways Board (Residuary) was abolished as part of a quango cull. Day-to-day management responsibilities were passed to the Highways Agency, now called National Highways, which looks after the UK’s strategic road network.
In 2021, the state-owned company was embroiled in controversy after plans were revealed that would have resulted in 134 historic bridges and tunnels being infilled or demolished without any consideration of their social value or repurposing potential. The longer-term programme could have seen as many as 480 structures being lost.
Accusations of “cultural vandalism” were levelled against National Highways after it unlawfully infilled a masonry arch at Great Musgrave in Cumbria under misapplied permitted development rights, ignoring a request from the local planning authority not to start the work.
The Government intervened to pause NH’s infilling and demolition programme pending the establishment of a formal decision-making and stakeholder consultation process. But a number of schemes continue to be pursued, including one due to start next month which will bury a bridge, located within a nature reserve, in around 2,000 tonnes of stone and concrete.
Lord Young, who served as Transport Secretary under John Major, recently tabled an amendment to the Railways Bill – currently going through its committee stage in the House of Lords – seeking transfer of the Historical Railways Estate to Great British Railways.
Speaking during a debate on Monday (26th October), he suggested that engineers who manage assets for Network Rail – and hence GBR – have “deep knowledge and experience of railway structures – as opposed to highways structures – and that has accrued over many decades, allowing pragmatic and proportionate decisions to be made with confidence.”
He went on to observe that the approach taken by National Highways and the Department for Transport “has condemned many bridges, tunnels and viaducts with the potential for alternative use to a fate of perpetual decline, often resulting in demolition or infilling, and so the social and economic benefits that could otherwise have been enjoyed are lost.”
Responding for the Government, Lord Hendy, the Minister of State for Rail, confirmed that “GBR will be the organisation with the capability, knowledge and experience to maintain the Estate and put it back into use where it’s appropriate and that’s why the Government has already been clear that the Historical Railways Estate will transfer to GBR, as the amendment seeks, and the Bill already contains the appropriate mechanisms to enable this…”
The battle to ensure that legacy railway structures are valued as assets by default, and subject to holistic decision-making, has been led by engineers, active travel advocates and heritage campaigners from The HRE Group.
Spokesperson Graeme Bickerdike welcomed the Government’s commitment. “There has always been friction between a risk-averse roads body that prioritises liability reduction and the aspiration for positive and sympathetic custodianship of these historic assets, with a view to deriving the greatest possible value from them.
“The broader and deeper expertise that’s embedded within Great British Railways – and a more enlightened culture – should result in better outcomes, both for communities and the taxpayer.
“We trust the Government will expedite the transfer and intervene to ensure that all proposed infilling and demolition schemes are paused pending its completion, unless there is an absolute imperative to act due to demonstrable safety concerns.”
Lead image credit: LuneViaduct @TheHREGroup
