It seems that Queensbury Tunnel is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Highways England’s intention of destroying our nation’s great railway heritage. Plans have now emerged for the demolition or infilling of hundreds of other structures forming part of the Historical Railways Estate, which HE manages on the Department for Transport’s behalf.

The first phase of this programme - which could affect up to 480 bridges and tunnels over ten years - is already underway, with 134 structures earmarked. No assessment has being made as to their strategic value, despite some being on the routes of proposed greenways and railway reopenings.

In a particularly disreputable move, the schemes are mostly being progressed under permitted development powers which are only applicable in emergency situations threatening a “loss of human life”. This approach overcomes the scrutiny that comes with normal planning processes and means that schemes can be pushed through without publication or objection even if they conflict with Local Development Plans, many of which include provisions to safeguard disused railway alignments.

We urge all supporters of the Queensbury Tunnel campaign to sign a petition lodged by The HRE Group which is actively looking into this issue. If the programme is allowed to continue in its current form, the negative impact on future rail and active travel provision could be considerable.

https://www.change.org/theHREgroup

Please share the petition with your friends, family and colleagues, and ask them also to sign it.