TYNEDALESMAN
MAGAZINE OF THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY
NUMBER 153�������������SPRING 2008GILDERDALE TO SLAGGYFORD LEASE COMPLETED ARTICLE
Gilderdale to Slaggyford Lease Completed: At Last!
by Steven DykeTucked away at the foot of a page, quite insignificant in comparison with the detailed record of preceding decisions on many safety-related issues, a one-sentence minute of the March 2008 Council of Management meeting noted that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman had signed and sealed the Gilderdale - Slaggyford trackbed lease on 24th February 2008.
For the purposes of the minute book, nothing more was needed, but that brief mention marked the end of a long saga of negotiations with Northumberland County Council (NCC) - in fact spanning more than the 25 years during which we have been operating passenger trains!
The Society’s first formal approach to NCC in relation to a narrow-gauge line was made in my letter dated 20th July 1977, referring to the decision of that year’s A.G.M. to adopt the narrow-gauge proposal. A reply stated that our request for NCC to consider purchasing land for future use by the Society “would be laid before the appropriate committee in due course”. In the following year, a letter from NCC stated that they had expressed an interest in the possible purchase of a length of the former railway line, but “some problems have arisen in the negotiations with British Rail over the precise terms of the purchase and discussions are continuing.”
An initial meeting between Society and NCC officers was arranged for 30th March 1979 at the NCC National Park Department in Hexham; the remit of that department included countryside matters outside the National Park. The outcome of those discussions was reported in Tynedalesman no.29: “The Northumberland Council’s priority is the provision of a public footpath along the route, but it does not appear that our railway proposals would be incompatible with this aim, in view of the generous clearances available. Northumberland are hopeful, too, of reaching early agreement for the purchase of the trackbed (from Gilderdale to Featherstone Park station), although the maintenance costs associated with the viaducts at Burnstones and Lambley present a problem, and it is possible that these structures may remain in B.R. ownership. Following this meeting, we have now been invited to make a formal submission of our proposals to NCC, so that they may be considered in greater detail.”
Much more correspondence and many more meetings were to follow. I will not attempt to summarise the entire saga, but there were numerous unforeseen difficulties along the way; at least three NCC departments involved; changes of personnel that seemed to result in a “back to square one” situation; and times when this was not a top priority for either party. Following on from my initial endeavours, the Society’s correspondence with NCC was handled successively by Colin McIntyre, Ivan Ward and Tom Bell.
From time to time, there were other Society members involved in meetings and site inspections. Over the last few years, Tom’s efforts, liaising with NCC and the Society’s solicitor, pushed the matter forward to its eventual satisfactory conclusion.
Furthermore, despite the negotiations being so protracted, it is fair to say that they have been conducted in an amicable manner and the NCC officers have always been sympathetic to the Society’s objectives. We must also acknowledge the interest and support of county councillors when policy decisions by NCC or its committees have been required.
Completion of the lease is significant as being the last of the three main authorisations that we have had to obtain in connection with our use of the trackbed (as distinct from Railway Inspectorate approvals for construction and operation of the railway); the others being planning permission and the Light Railway Order.
Lest it might appear that the Society was using NCC land unofficially prior to the lease being signed, a brief explanation may be appropriate here. The lease document is the legal confirmation of the lease that had effectively existed from the time that its terms had been agreed. There had been an earlier stage during which the Society had been granted entry to the NCC land, pending agreement of the lease, to begin construction northwards from Gilderdale. Separate permission had also been obtained from NCC for work to be undertaken at Slaggyford station.
Signed and sealed at last - now we “only” have to build the rest of the line to Slaggyford!
Steven Dyke
Click here to return to the top of this page.
For more information about the South Tynedale Railway, please contact:-
THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY,
Registered Office Address:-
The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.
Telephone 01434 381696.
Talking timetable - Telephone 01434 382828.
Registered Charity No. 514939.
Limited by Guarantee: Company Registration No. 1850832 (England).E-mail enquiries - please click on links below:
South Tynedale Railway information - Send e-mail to South Tynedale Railway
STRPS membership information only - Send e-mail to Kathy Aveyard
Tynedalesman information only - Send e-mail to Tynedalesman compilersMission Statement for the South Tynedale Railway:-
�To provide satisfaction for our customers and volunteers
by operating a friendly, safe and efficient narrow-gauge railway.�
� South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society, June 2008.