Brechin heritage railway chiefs say a Levelling Up Fund knockback has left them considering the future direction of travel for one of Angus’s most popular tourist attractions.
An attempt to convince councillors to reverse a decision not to bid for millions of pounds of UK Government cash failed on Thursday.
At a special council meeting, Angus Provost Brian Boyd ruled there hadn’t been a material change in the circumstances of the Caley bid for it to be reconsidered.
The railway had halved its original submission to £9.6 million.
It hoped to land the cash for projects including:
- Active Travel route between Brechin Station and Andover School
- Coach and EV Facilities
- Reinstatement of Brechin Railway turntable
- Brechin steam shed event space and museum
- Maintenance, training and green energy development facilities
And it wanted the chance to convince councillors the ambitious programme was not a financial risk to the authority.
Big events could suffer
Caley chairman Jon Gill says the hammer blow could threaten big crowd-pullers like Thomas the Tank and the Polar Express.
And there are fears the operation might have to shut for demolition of a Brechin bridge.
The railway hoped to use LUF cash for the Bog Road project but the authority may now have to fund it from its own pocket.
Mr Gill said there is “enormous frustration” around the handling of the LUF bid.
“The council owns the railway and as volunteers we have successfully operated that asset for more than 40 years,” he said.
“In that time we estimate there has been a direct tourism benefit of around £90m to Angus.
“Other indirect benefits include training, wellbeing and support for other community groups.
“The lack of transparency and engagement in the whole process leaves the railway with major decisions to make about how it engages with the council in the future.
“It feels like we are a lot better for the council than they are for us.
“Although individually we have a great many supporters in the council, it seems that collectively they will commit no more than words to the railway.
“Angus has secured nothing from the Levelling Up Fund and we might be the only council to miss out again.”
Varied skillset
He added: “The railway has a strong and diverse volunteer base.
“And a large number of these are highly skilled managerial and technical personnel.
“The efforts all the volunteers put in deliver considerable benefit to Angus.
“But we will need to take time to review things and determine whether any ambitious plans are achievable with the council operating as it does.
“We estimate there will be 20,000 visitors for the Polar Express this year,” said Jon.
“We were awarded exclusive rights from Warner Bros. to run the event in Scotland.
“And in our first year we received an award from them for the best community event globally.
“These are a real challenge for volunteers to run but we made a great success of it.
“The restrictions this result will have on capacity at the railway in future years will threaten our ability to satisfy demand in the long term.
“We just hope that doesn’t mean Warner Bros. might look elsewhere in the future.”
Bridge dilemma
There is also uncertainty around the future of the Bog Road bridge, which crosses the line near Brechin station.
Jon added: “The weight limit has been restricted on this for many years and it’s in a poor condition.
“Our own inspector found it needs immediate work.
“It’s the council’s responsibility and we have asked the council for an inspection history and plans to resolve the issue.
“If they have to knock it down it could close the railway, cost a huge amount of money to do and lead to potential trespassing problems on the line.”
Council commitment
Angus Council said: “There is no question of the council’s support for the project, it is the method of funding and timescales for submission which are in question.
“To be clear, it is the council that would be fully responsible for underwriting this project and that could have impacted on other areas of service delivery to communities in Angus.
“Given the information presented to us and timescales, it has not been possible to reduce that risk.
“However, we have worked extensively with Brechin Caledonian Railway since they first contacted us with their idea for a proposal in May and will continue to do so.
“We remain very supportive of their ambitious scheme.
“Officers are committed to continuing to work with the group moving forward to develop the required detail for a levelling up fund application, so that it is ready in good time for a potential submission next year.
“More immediately, we will be seeking to identify other funding for their project.
“Brechin Caledonian Railway can be assured of the council’s support throughout this process.
“There are no plans in place within Angus Council at this time to progress with bridge improvements, however, the bridge will continue to be monitored in terms of safety.”
Conversation