Nature’s reclamation of our dismantled railway network describes a delightfully melancholy intermingling, whereby wildlife and vegetation recolonise trackbeds while structures are lost to the permeative interventions of water and tree growth. But a more malevolent force has also been at play here – that of our state-owned roads company which, by default, sees only liability in those parts of our heritage for which it was appointed custodian eight years ago.
National Highways looks after around 3,200 disused bridges, tunnels, viaducts, and culverts – comprising the Historical Railways Estate (HRE) – on behalf of their owner, the Department for Transport (DfT). The Protocol Agreement defining its management duties makes clear that it must “seek to reduce the liabilities for the Secretary of State in terms of individual structure safety”. There is no mention of delivering value-for-money or social benefit, and thereby hangs the problem.
The best-practice hierarchy of principles for the conservation of structures carrying roads – as many of National Highways’ legacy rail bridges do – is captured in the company’s standard CG 304. Wherever possible, structures should be maintained in their original form, it says; modifications should involve minimal loss in character, historic fabric, and landscape impact, while any new materials should be chosen sympathetically.
All of which goes some way to explaining the robust criticism levelled at National Highways over the past year or so for its brutalist infilling and demolition of bridges without any meaningful engineering justification or evaluation of their potential to play future sustainable transport roles. Also overlooked has been their historical and ecological significance which just feels wrong in the supposedly more enlightened uplands of the 21st century. This has all the hallmarks of the destructive 1970s.
If anyone is feeling incensed by such vandalism and wants to object to the retrospective planning permission, the window for objections is still open – until 4th May 2022. The web site for making an objection is here:
I understand that well over 300 objections have been lodged – an unusually high number, I believe.
https://plansearch.eden.gov.uk/fastweb/detail.asp?AltRef=22/0254&ApplicationNumber=22%2F0254&AddressPrefix=&Postcode=&Submit=Search
From the original article:
“Residents occupied a bridge at Horspath, Oxfordshire,
because its demolition would have severed a wildlife
corridor. Having reprieved it, National Highways then
blocked the corridor with palisade fencing”
Which tells you what you need to know – it’s pure spite [Snip. LBM] on “Highways England’s” part.
One also wonders if it’s a legacy of Marples & Serpell, too, or is that just an over-active imagination?