Plans to link two Cumbrian heritage railways could be sunk unless objectors convince a local council to reject a planning application to make the infilling of a Victorian bridge permanent.
For 27 years, the Eden Valley and Stainmore railways have been working towards the relaying of five miles of track between Warcop and Kirkby Stephen. But last year National Highways buried a stone arch bridge at Great Musgrave in more than 1,600 tonnes of aggregate and concrete, blocking the route.
Since 2017, inspections had found the structure to be in fair condition, with only a handful of minor defects.
Repointing open mortar joints — costing around £20,000 — would have enabled the structure to carry 40-tonne vehicles, but an engineer employed by the state-owned roads company told Eden District Council that infilling was needed “to prevent the failure of the bridge and avert a collapse”.
The work was carried out during May and June last year under powers intended for emergency situations presenting a threat of death or injury, with the material allowed to remain in situ for no longer than 12 months.
The council has insisted that planning permission must be obtained for retention beyond this period. National Highways has now submitted its application, with a decision due by May 27.
Infilling set taxpayers back £124,000 and, according to an internal review, National Highways now believes that restoring the bridge for rail use could cost as much as £431,000.
Mike Thompson, project manager for the Stainmore Railway Company, said: “Our long standing aspiration to reconnect with our friends at the Eden Valley Railway offers the potential to provide a much-needed boost to the area’s economy.
“It was always going to be a challenging project with obstacles to overcome, but the unnecessary infilling of Great Musgrave bridge has made it so much more difficult and costly.
“National Highways didn’t consult with us about their plans for the structure. Now though we have the opportunity to make our views known and we hope that democratic process will result in the right outcome.
“We believe infilling conflicts with the council’s policies on new development, biodiversity, landscape character, green infrastructure and heritage assets, as well as the protection of dismantled railways under consideration for reopening.
“We ask anyone who recognises the importance of our wonderful railway heritage — and its value for future sustainable transport use — to object to National Highways’ planning application.”
Eight months ago, the Government paused all further infilling schemes due to the controversy caused by the work at Great Musgrave, however the programme is expected to resume later this year.
Comments about the Great Musgrave application can be submitted online via Eden District Council’s planning portal, searching for case reference 22/0254.
Hélène Rossiter, National Highways head of Historical Railways Estate, said: “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 include their timescales in the planning submission and let the planning authority know when the infilling would likely be removed.
“Unfortunately the Eden Valley Railway Project’s plans were not sufficiently developed to provide the planning authority with that information.
“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.”
