The former president of the Institute of Civil Engineers, Mark Whitby, has had his legal objection to the construction of the Ordsall Chord - an £85m rail link - rejected by the High Court.
There was 'no flaw' in allowing the current plans to proceed
As we wrote in Confidential this September:
'The proposed route linking Manchester’s Piccadilly and Victoria Stations will sever the 185-year-old-line. The alternative route suggested by Whitby would have preserved this vital piece of history while still ensuring rail infrastructure improvement is delivered.
To castrate the oldest passenger rail system in the world and lose the integrity of the heritage and the potentially huge future tourist benefits seems perverse. After all Andrew Davison, former boss of English Heritage, has called this site “the Stonehenge of the Railways”, and said: “This is the place where the modern world began."'
But such arguments, according to Mrs Justice Lang of the High Court, don't outweigh the 'public good' delivered by the present route proposed for the Ordsall Chord. She said the government inspector, Brendan Lyons, had given 'considerable weight and importance' to the heritage assets and of preserving them. There was 'no flaw' in allowing the current plans to proceed.
Thus, the world's oldest and first rail complex - station, warehouse, viaduct and of course the line to Liverpool - will become isolated. This means the Museum of Science and Industry, which initially objected to the Ordsall Chord plans until they recieved a promise of a £3m 'donation' from Network Rail to ‘bring to life previously untold stories', will become steward of a complex that has lost a great deal of meaning.
Let's hope the 'huge economic benefits' as described by Manchester City Council and Network Rail become reality to give meaning to the heritage sacrifice.
