You may be aware of the ongoing saga of Queensbury Tunnel in West Yorkshire - a 1.4-mile long strategic connector between two conurbations separated by a big hill. The Department for Transport and National Highways want to abandon the Victorian structure despite a viable community aspiration to repurpose it for active travel.

According to a recent feasibility study, £3 would be returned in social, economic and tourism benefits for every £1 invested in a network linking Bradford, Keighley and Halifax, with the tunnel as its centrepiece.

Just four years ago, a £7.3M programme of strengthening work was completed in the tunnel, making it safe for future reuse. But last July, a Government minister committed a further £7.5M to a partial infilling scheme which would render it permanently beyond use. That sum would substantially pay for the structure’s repair, making it greenway-ready.

Given the challenges we face as a nation, it’s a nonsense to waste taxpayers’ money on work that would deliver no public benefit. It suggests that those who’ve contributed to the decision still don’t understand the value of these legacy structures. Queensbury Tunnel is a significant and irreplaceable transport asset.

The Queensbury Tunnel Society is urging supporters to write to their MP, asking them to lobby the Minister to transfer the abandonment funds to Bradford Council or the West Yorkshire Combined Authority so they can take on the tunnel’s management and repair.

A facility has been set up via the Action Network which allows you to write to your MP quickly and easily. The whole process takes less than a minute. The more people who respond, the more likely it is that decision-makers will take notice.
Please write if you can.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-minister-be-a-builder-not-a-blocker

Thank you.