Queensbury Tunnel Society urges council to take action over infilling

Bradford Council has been urged to take enforcement action, after the disused Queensbury Tunnel was partially infilled using development powers that campaigners claim were applied unlawfully.

The 1.4-mile-long tunnel in West Yorkshire has been earmarked for use as part of a cycle path linking Halifax to Bradford and Keighley, with the Department for Transport committing £1 million for technical and feasibility studies.

However, the Victorian structure has been badly affected by flooding since its closure in 1956 and is now in a state of disrepair.

Campaigners argue that this was exacerbated by a failure by tunnel custodian National Highways (NH) to pay the annual rent for land at the tunnel’s southern end occupied by a pumping station.The equipment was subsequently turned off by the landowner in September 2018, forcing the abandonment of a £550,000 12-week repair programme.

Following persistent rain and amid concerns over a bulge in the tunnel lining’s sidewall, NH then used emergency powers in September 2019 to tip hundreds of tonnes of stone down a nearby ventilation shaft

According to the Queensbury Tunnel Society, the powers only facilitated the temporary work, and the material should have removed within six months.

Emboldened by Eden District Council’s recent decision to reject NH’s retrospective planning permission to retain 1,600 tonnes of stone and concrete in which Cumbria’s Great Musgrave bridge was buried last year (RAIL 960), the society argued: “It’s time to draw a line under NH’s continued abuse of development powers.

“The company believes it can do whatever it likes, whenever it likes and won’t be challenged.

“Eden District Council proved them wrong last month and Bradford Council must do the same over Queensbury Tunnel.”

NH submitted a planning application for Queensbury Tunnel’s abandonment in 2019 which has so far received almost 8,000 objections.