Latest news with #QueensburyTunnelSociety
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Plans to fill in Queensbury Tunnel move forward
National Highways has confirmed it will spend £7.5m filling in Queensbury Tunnel in West Yorkshire, which would prevent it from being converted into the country's longest underground organisation said the work was necessary to "stabilise the tunnel safely and securely," adding that proposals to restore and reopen the route would cost £ from Queensbury Tunnel Society have spent more than a decade developing plans for the 1.4-mile former railway tunnel to be reopened as a greenway that could link Bradford and the Department for Transport has supported plans to seal the 1870s structure and said restoration would be too expensive. National Highways took control of the England's disused former railway structures after the privatisation of British organisation has already spent £7.2m between 2018 and 2021 to strengthen the tunnel to prevent parts of it the time, the body said the work was to "ensure that any future plans for the structure can be realised".The organisation has said it would be too expensive to restore the route, but a Queensbury Tunnel Society spokesperson said the £22m figure was excessively high because National Highways want to "gold-plate" the society argued that a study by engineering consultancy AECOM in 2018 found that the tunnel could be repaired for £6.9m. Society spokesperson Graeme Bickerdike said: "The £7.5m that is going to be spent on abandonment could be spent on repairs to make it greenway ready."What we're proposing is a really ambitious active travel network, and nobody's under illusions about how dauting that is in terms of financing it."But you break it down into manageable chunks and spend the money when it's available, rather than the tunnel being lost forever."National Highways said the tunnel would be stabilised by pumping material into ventilation shafts 400 ft above the structure but a spokesperson said "we will not be infilling or demolishing the tunnel".When asked if the work would make the tunnel inaccessible and prevent it from being converted into a greenway, the spokesperson said: "Yes, that's an accurate summary."The government-owned company will now seek planning consent from Bradford Council to carry out the Queensbury Tunnel Campaign has been exploring the possibility of a judicial review that would examine the lawfulness of the decision. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Campaigners seek judicial review to save Queensbury Tunnel
Campaigners hoping to convert a disused railway tunnel into a cycleway are raising funds for a judicial review after the government ruled the scheme was too of the Queensbury Tunnel Society met Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood in a last-ditch attempt to reverse the decision, but were told the tunnel would be effectively sealed Tunnel closed in 1956 and was part of a line that linked Bradford and Halifax with a branch to Department for Transport (DfT) said: "This has been a difficult decision but ultimately, we have a responsibility to safety and delivering value for the taxpayer." A judicial review would see judges examine the lawfulness of the McWilliam, leader of the society, said: "We are talking about seven-and-a-half million pounds to permanently destroy the tunnel."Her (the minister's) reason is that there's a safety issue, which we don't accept."The only way to do it is to close the tunnel, which we don't accept."She said there isn't any money to restore the tunnel. We accept that, but there could be at some point in the future."The tunnel could just be left as it is, there is no urgency."She said the society needed to raise £6,500 initially to allow solicitors to prepare a submission to start the case for a judicial said: "If we progress through to a judicial review then it would cost a hell of a lot of money, around £60,000." The DfT said the continued deterioration of the Queensbury Tunnel meant National Highways had been instructed to carry out works to maintain public absence of local funding to develop it as a transport link was also a factor in the decision-making process, a spokesperson said. Re-use of the tunnel as a greenway was first proposed as a Tour de France legacy scheme in 2014 after the Grand Départ of the world-famous cycle race was held in Highways inherited the tunnel after the privatisation of British Rail and abandonment would reduce its 2018 and 2021 it spent £7.2m on strengthening the tunnel, saying the work would "prevent further uncontrolled collapses, ensuring that any future plans for the re-use of the structure can be realised".But it started filling the 1.4-mile (2.25km) tunnel with gravel in 2021 to prevent collapse. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Queensbury Tunnel cycleway plan too costly, say government
Campaigners hoping to convert a former railway tunnel into a cycle-way have been told the passage is to be made "permanently inaccessible" after the proposal was deemed too a letter to the Queensbury Tunnel Society, transport minister Lilian Greenwood said work to transform the tunnel, which is maintained by National Highways, did not offer "best value for the public purse" in a "challenging fiscal environment".She said, as a result, she was in favour of work to "stabilise the tunnel shafts", which campaigners say would bring an end to their hopes of transforming it into a walking and cycling route linking Bradford, Halifax and McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: "The government is making an investment in destruction to satisfy the needs of a roads body that only cares about its own narrow interests." National Highways inherited the 1.4mile (2.2km) long tunnel after the privatisation of British Rail and abandonment would reduce its of the tunnel as a greenway was first proposed as a Tour de France legacy scheme in 2014 after the Grand Depart of the world-famous cycle race was held in 2018 and 2021 National Highways spent £7.2m on strengthening the tunnel, saying the work would "prevent further uncontrolled collapses, ensuring that any future plans for the re-use of the structure can be realised".Campaigners say work to complete the project would cost in the region of £16m.A feasibility study, published by cycle charity Sustrans earlier this year, found that the route would improve local connectivity and generate £3 in social, economic and tourism benefits for every £1 spent on McWilliam said: "Why are National Highways managing structures like Queensbury Tunnel, why are the government not shifting responsibility for the tunnel and other historic infrastructure to a department who really understand the public benefits of greenways and how to repurpose heritage structures?" A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "Given the continued deterioration of the Queensbury Tunnel, and in the absence of local funding to develop it as a transport link, National Highways has been instructed to carry out works to maintain public safety."This has been a difficult decision but ultimately, we have a responsibility to safety and delivering value for the taxpayer".West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, who previously campaigned for the tunnel to be reopened said while she shared the disappointment of campaigners she understood the government's said: "The Government had to act quickly to secure the site, and the realities of public finances meant a difficult decision needed to be made."In 2024 Bradford Council said that while it was "supportive of restoring the tunnel in principle" it was unlikely to be able to fund further and would instead focus on other active travel are due to meet with Greenwood in London later this month to discuss her decision. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
