CONFIDENTIAL has learnt the former president of the Institute of Civil Engineers, Mark Whitby, has been given leave to appeal against the construction of the Ordsall Chord rail link. This follows Confidential's breaking news here.
More importantly the Court have stated 'The grounds of appeal raise important points and have real prospects of success'
Let's remind ourselves of what's at stake.
The Ordsall Chord will connect Piccadilly and Victoria Stations directly and coherently for the first time. The new track length will be 1km and will involve the construction of a new viaduct and open up connections east and west across the 'Northern Powerhouse' region. Manchester City Council and Network Rail who have...er...railroaded the scheme, claim the benefits from the new link will be huge, around 30,000 new jobs and £4.6bn of wider economic joy. The Northern Hub project will cost £600m. The Chord element of this will cost £85m.
As we've said before, there's a problem. The scheme will smash through the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway (LMR) lines at the western end of the Museum of Science and Industry site and put the Grade I listed George Stephenson designed viaduct which crossed the river here into the literal shade.
LMR was the world's first passenger rail system and began the Railway Age. The complex of rail buildings and structures at this site are thus the oldest in the world.
Campaigners against the proposed route support the Ordsall Chord but want it to take a different trajectory that wouldn't sever the link between the existing rail network and the unique station complex - this is Mark Whitby's point.
As Andrew Davison, Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments in the North West, has stated during the long battle with Network Rail and Manchester City Council: "This is the Stonehenge of railway history. This is not just a place that has potential to hold more than national significance in relation to railway history this is the place where the modern world began."
By the terms of the appeal the costs to Whitby will be limited whatever the result as the Court of Appeal deem the case as 'an environmental matter of general importance and the appellant has no financial interest'. More importantly the Court have stated 'The grounds of appeal raise important points and have real prospects of success.'
Given it was the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, who'd decided in the last instance that 'the harm to heritage assets in the vicinity would in this instance be outweighed by those public benefit' the Court's decision to allow the appeal is very interesting. It is a small victory for the little man against the great institutions even if once more the result of any future appeal means another defeat for Whitby and his supporters.
CGI of proposed Ordsall ChordSir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, certainly hopes so.
He told Confidential: "The Ordsall Chord is a vital part of the Northern Hub, which will bring significant improvements to rail services across the North West, providing extra capacity to support thousands of additional freight journeys and enabling millions more passengers to travel across the region each day. It will provide a huge boost to the economy of the city, helping to drive growth across the wider region and indeed the whole of northern England.
"This critical piece of work to modernise our transport infrastructure has to be weighed against the need to preserve our city's important heritage assets, and - while such a major engineering project will inevitably have some impact - a great deal of work has taken place to ensure this impact is kept to an absolute minimum. The agreed option will open up views to the Grade I listed Stephenson's Bridge for the first time in more than a century, and will enable plans to go ahead for an elevated walkway around the Museum of Science and Industry showcasing these heritage assets - neither of which would be achieved under Mark Whitby's proposals.
"I agree with the Secretary of State's original judgement - a decision made following extensive consultation by Network Rail - that this is the right option for the city, the region, and the country, and I want to see this vitally important new line opening as soon as possible. Manchester was the city where the rail revolution began in the 19th century, and the Ordsall Chord will enable us to create a railway fit for our 21st century population."
Meanwhile the contrary view locally has been put forward by Ian Christie, who represented 45 Castlefield Forum members at the May 2014 Public Inquiry.
He said: "At the Inquiry Mark Whitby’s route for the Chord was supported by Historic England, the Forum and several key objectors. Not one of them, including Mark Whitby, were against the Chord – only against the particular route chosen by Network Rail which is the shortest and cheapest route from Salford Central station to Castlefield Junction.
"The Public Inquiry Inspector, the Government and Network Rail all agree the chosen route does more damage to listed buildings and structures and their settings around Liverpool Road railway station than Mark’s route which runs further west across Middlewood Locks. They also all agree his route is 'operationally viable'.
"So why didn’t they choose it? The reason seems to be that Mark’s route would delay the redevelopment of Middlewood Locks by a few years and would make it more 'challenging'. But what’s two or three year’s delay for a project that’s been talked about for 30 years and which, when built, will probably last for more than 200 years?
"As for 'challenging' - developing a site with no or few constraints is obviously easier than developing a site with constraints but the end product is often more bland and characterless. What makes Castlefield canal basin such a memorable and popular place for residents and visitors? It’s the combination of railways and canals, of viaducts over bridges over water, of deep and important heritage. Middlewood Locks could have the same exciting and strong sense of place if Mark’s route were built.
"Basically this whole saga is a classic example of botched planning. Network Rail saw the Chord as a piece of engineering infrastructure whereas they should have seen it as part of wider plan for the whole area. They should have liaised from the start with all potential partners – Manchester & Salford Councils, Historic England, the owners of the Middlewood Locks site etc whereas, for example, we know they didn’t consult Historic England until they’d more or less decided their preferred route.
"Mark Whitby should be applauded for his tenacity and vision. Through his engineering firm Whitbybird, he’s already made two fine contributions to Manchester’s townscape - the curving white footbridge over the Bridgewater Canal in Castlefield and the silver footbridge over the Irwell from Spinningfields to Salford. Let’s hope he makes a third by re-directing the route of the Ordsall Chord.”
