A pledge to remove the controversial infilling of Great Musgrave bridge at no additional cost to the taxpayer is set to form part of a planning application which is set to go before Eden Council.
When National Highways buried an elegant stone arch bridge in a thousand tonnes of aggregate and concrete, it tore up longstanding plans to establish a link between two heritage railways in the Eden Valley.
Mike Thompson, project manager for the Kirkby Stephen-based Stainmore Railway Company said: “We put our heart and soul into the railway and, as we expand, it will increasingly deliver economic benefits to the area.
“We’ve been planning a link from Warcop to Kirkby Stephen for 25 years. Great Musgrave bridge is a critical piece of infrastructure for us and infilling was a kick in the teeth.
“It came out of the blue and has made the task of reconnection much more difficult, increasing the costs involved unsustainably.”
The work, carried out last May and June at Great Musgrave, was widely condemned as “cultural vandalism” and the subsequent outcry prompted government to put dozens of similar projects on hold.
Having been pushed through under powers that only last 12 months by default and apply in emergency situations presenting a threat of death or injury, if the state-owned roads company wishes to retain the infill permanently, Eden Council, as the the local planning authority, has insisted that approval must be obtained.
Mr Thompson added: “We’ve been gearing up to oppose the planning application; then a letter arrived from National Highways, asking for details about our future plans — replacement structures, construction phases, land acquisition, fundraising, liability transfers and parliamentary powers. I couldn’t believe what I was reading: they’ve taken a wrecking ball to our aspirations and they’re now seeking our help to justify their destructive actions.
“We’ve written a polite letter back, but we’re not appointing National Highways to represent our views to the local authority or providing them with ammunition to use against us.
“If the planning team needs to understand how we intend to reopen the line, we’re perfectly capable of telling them ourselves.
“But this application is specifically about the bridge and its infill, not the railway. They’re trying to muddy the waters by conflating two separate issues.”
Great Musgrave bridge was in good condition, with an estimated £20,000 of repairs needed to rectify a handful of minor defects. The HRE Group — an alliance of engineers, sustainable transport advocates and greenway developers — accuses National Highways of “contriving an alternative reality” to make the case for infilling, and misrepresenting safety implications.
According to the company, bringing the structure back into use for rail could now cost as much as £431,000, on top of the £124,000 spent on infilling.
The planning application has to be submitted by May 23 and consultants began work on it in August.
“We will object in the strongest terms and we hope all those who value our great railway heritage will join us.
“They cannot be allowed to get away with such an appalling act,” added Mr Thompson.
Hélène Rossiter, head of historical railways estate programme for National Highways, said: “We are preparing a planning application which will reiterate that the infilling at Great Musgrave will be removed, at no additional cost to the taxpayer, ahead of the proposed reinstatement of a railway between Appleby East and Kirkby Stephen East.
“We wrote to the heritage railway companies that comprise Eden Valley Railway Project to discuss the progress of their plans for the reopening of the line, including timescales and funding, so we could let the planning authority know when the infilling could likely be removed.
“Our thorough internal review determined last year’s infilling was vital to public safety, and preserving the structure until a long-term purpose is found. We’ve committed to reversing it if a viable future use for the track bed beneath the bridge is found, that has all necessary approvals and is ready to be delivered.”
After inspections in 2017, 2020 and 2021, during which time the condition of the bridge deteriorated, it was decided that work was needed to infill the structure in order to keep people safe.
A National Highways spokesman added: “Allowing the bridge to deteriorate further without this work being completed would have resulted in the bridge’s use being restricted and the impact that would have caused on the local highway network.
“Our work also allowed for ongoing use of the unrestricted road carried by the bridge which is used as an unofficial diversion route when the A66 is closed. Any delay to our work would have resulted in it being pushed back to the following year because we had to do it before bat roosting season.”
