Brakes put on demolition of old Hope train station
Provincial ombudsperson issues stop-work order on 1916 structure
Demolition of the historic Hope train station was supposed to start March 15. But the demolition was put on hold after an appeal to the provincial ombudsperson's office, and now a 120-day “stop work” order has been issued on the 1916 building by the provincial heritage branch.
“It gives us breathing space,” said Arlene Webster of the Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House.
“We were really scrambling to avoid demolition,” Webster said. The stop-work order issued by Richard Lindsay, director of the heritage branch, gives the coalition four months to can raise money to save the building and reach an agreement with city council.
“We're willing to talk. We're looking for a win-win for both sides.”
In a news release, the ombudsperson said that in deciding to tear down the building, Hope council was presented with two options: to either demolish the building or transfer title to a local First Nation.
“However, council was not presented with a third option of moving the building. The ombudsperson's investigation also noted the district did not adequately consider the building 's heritage status when making its initial decision.”
The District of Hope has agreed not to demolish the building. It will discuss the issue with the public in a public meeting May 10.
Hope Mayor Peter Robb declined to discuss the matter until the meeting.
Hope has been leasing the property where the station sits for $1 a year from the province through the Department of Highways and Infrastructure. It had plans to fix up the structure and turn it into a tourist information centre.
But Robb said in March the ministry had neglected to consult with the local Chawathil First Nation over the sale or transfer of the property. When the Chawathil were consulted, Robb said they wanted the property, but not the station.
Hope got $650,000 from the province for the time and money it had spent on the info centre, and Robb said part of the deal was to remove the station by May 31.
Webster doesn't understand the rush to demolish, when Boston Bar recently received $1.9 million from the federal and provincial governments to restore its train station.
She also noted that last week the province gave a $500,000 grant to the New Pathways to Gold Society for tourist initiatives between Hope and Barkerville, including the 1926 Alexandra Bridge.
Webster said Nickel Bros. house movers have estimated the cost of moving the 6,500-squarefoot Hope station is $120,000 to $130,000.
“The building is in good shape,” she said. “We were allowed in (recently) to have a look around. It's structurally intact, it has good bones. Yes it needs some cosmetics, but it has a new roof, it has new plywood under the shingles, the walls have been strengthened. I can't understand why they would want to tear it down.”
Former mayor Ray Gardner would also like to see it saved, and converted into an arts/theatre space. Gardner knows the building well — his friend's dad was the station master there when he was a kid.
“I think we need to preserve our history a little bit more in Canada,” said Gardner, 86. “We had the big Rambo movie here (in 1981), and they (filmed) a bridge that was over 100 years old. They tore it down, and people still come and ask `Where is that bridge?' We need to keep more of that stuff.”
Gardner was one of the people who worked to save the station in the 1980s, when Canadian National Railway was talking about demolishing it. It was moved to its present location in 1985.
An online petition to save the Hope station has now reached 2,581 people. Hope's population is about 6,500.
We were really scrambling to avoid demolition. We're willing to talk. We're looking for a win-win for both sides.