"SECLUDED by tall trees, Laxey tram station has always exuded an air of timeless charm - the silence between arrivals and departures broken only by the cawing of the rooks.
But the site presents a very different scene today as contractors moved in as part of £678,000 ‘improvement’ scheme.
With the rails ripped up and a number of trees felled, it looks more like a bombsite than a hub of the island’s historic rail network.
Tynwald approved funding for project to replace aging trackwork at last month’s sitting amid warnings that without these vital engineering works the Manx Electric Railway would be forced to close for good. The scheme will also allow the first phase of the Laxey regeneration to begin. But enthusiasts fear heritage is being destroyed - and the station’s unique atmosphere lost forever.
Manx Electric Railway Society spokesman Richard Dodge said: ‘It remains this Society’s concern and fear that plans for Laxey station, as approved by the planning authority, will effectively destroy the character and ambience of the station and do nothing to enhance the passengers’ MER experience.
‘Although at the site clearing stage, this is already in part evident through the felling of a number of trees and creating a distinct and obvious hole at the point where a ‘hatchet’ shaped walkway is to be created, robbing the station of its secluded timeless charm.
‘But this is just the start. If proposals are fully implemented the area is to be given a modernistic makeover with wholly inappropriate materials and street furniture more suited to a newly built out of town shopping centre than a Victorian station in a conservation area.
‘Comments from the DCCL Minister that money for such an approach is currently not available are largely irrelevant, planning approval has several years until expiry and there is nothing to suggest that funding won’t be found from the railway’s budget or elsewhere in a future financial year.
‘This whole unfortunate episode highlights a lacklustre approach to a rich Manx heritage by a seemingly unconcerned government. Rather than destroying what the island should be proud of, efforts should be concentrated on promoting the island’s unique heritage worldwide.’
No one from the DCCL was available for comment. It is understood that a number of trees have been cut down to make way for a pedestrian walkway to a proposed new ‘Town Square’. The rustic-looking station building and kiosk will be retained."
Manx Independent Front Page 29th November 2013