Restructure ‘will make MidHants fit for next 20 years’
A RESTRUCTURE is planned at the Mid-Hants Railway to help secure it for future generations.
The existing structure of the line dates back to its inception in the 1970s when a company – then titled the Winchester & Alton Light Railway – was set up with the intention of operating daily commuter services, and the MHR Preservation Society intending to run steam-hauled trains at weekends.
The plan for commuter trains did not materialise but the operating company, now titled Mid-Hants Railway Ltd, owns the freehold of the line and a significant proportion of its assets.
However, the preservation society, having acquired and been gifted shares to support the railway over the years, now has a 51% shareholding in the company.
Under the restructure plan, the MHRPS, which is already a charity, will become the Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust, using the railway's long-standing marketing name to avoid confusion. It will take on overall strategic and financial planning for the line, as well as fundraising and educational activities, while “devolving the maximum possible operational freedom” to the operating company.
Fit for the future
The restructure would vest the majority of assets in the trust and mean that the charity is the entity charging for tickets, thereby allowing it to claim Gift Aid on most of its activities, which it is currently unable to do.
An extensive consultation exercise will now be undertaken with members and shareholders, with one key question being the potential transfer of the freehold to the trust.
The costs of the restructure cannot be finalised until the details of the changes are agreed with members and shareholders, but are expected to be quickly recouped by the increased ability to claim Gift Aid.
MHR Ltd chairman Richard Lacey said: “This is no simple rebadging exercise; rather, it represents fundamental change to our organisations to ensure that they are as fit to meet the challenges of the next 20 years as we can make them.”