MANX ELECTRIC RAILWAY SOCIETY
Press Release.
SAVE THE HORSE TRAMS
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater…
SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE HORSE TRAMS HERE
Just when it appeared that we had a new and enlightened Minister for Infrastructure, it has become apparent that that gentleman has become infected with the same disease as his predecessor; he is now dancing to the same tune. Instead of his pre-election mantra of "trust me I want the horse trams to run the full length of the promenade", (as related to Isle of Man Newspapers, which was pretty convincing given that is what he voted for having rejected the argument against scrapping the line between the Sea Terminal and the Broadway), he has now suffered an unfortunate conversion on the Road to Damascus. He has apparently accepted the advice of his predecessor's advisers to.... scrap the line between the Sea Terminal and the Broadway.
In doing this (and we must still presume him not to be a fool), he plainly believes that his brothers and sisters in the Keys will support him in this scheme. He therefore expects that a majority in the Keys will betray their similar indications (pre-election) of support for the tramway running the full length of the Promenade.
If he is right, the new political class will turn out to be more ruthless than the last and show themselves not to care about the consequences of reneging upon pre-election promises; they will be prepared to make assumptions as to an inherent ignorance and stupidity in the electorate that voted them in and to act in the belief that the electorate will have forgotten their duplicity when they come to vote next time.
The Manx Electric Railway Society has every confidence that the electorate will not forget and that it is not stupid; Poor Mr Gawne will testify to that. In any event we will be there to remind the public of such decisions.
Be aware too that, given that the recent announcement indicates agreement to part of the original "Gawne Plan" (of course it was not originated by him but it bears his name), there are other parts of that plan which were announced last time which those who are behind this have yet to resurrect; demolition of the horse tram depot, etc.
Behind all this lies a secretive Department of Infrastructure which does not like to be tested in public (the suppression of the report about the destruction of the Snaefell tram in the Spring being a case in point) and prefers the world of the fait accompli. The MERS has recently been told by Mr Longworth that because he does not agree with us and because (in effect) we refuse to collaborate with his schemes we are no longer on his press release list (this was only discovered when we enquired; no-one in his Department had the courtesy to write to us to tell us first, despite the fact that over the years we have done a great deal to publicise events etc).
It appears that the new Minister (who set off so strong with his tarmac approach to getting things done) has fallen in love with his Department. He takes their advice and has allowed this to override his political instincts;
The Minister has announced that the proposed relay of double track horse tram track between Derby Castle and the War Memorial will connect directly to the MER to facilitate the MER and (his words) "light rail". This is the legacy project of Mr Longworth who is a tram enthusiast and wishes to extend the MER down the middle of the congested metaled road between Derby Castle and the Broadway, (at public expense of course). One cannot contemplate the public reaction to this.
The sop to the public is that on high days and holidays no doubt, a humble horse will be permitted to pull a horse tram along the same route (when the light rail timetable permits). There will be no depot no stables no recognisable horse tramway. For some strange reason unlike his predecessor the new Minister has failed to describe himself Champion of the Horse Tramway. We wonder why? It sounds like the same scheme.
The Minister has ignored the fact that (quite aside from any concerns about Mr Longworth), his Department was responsible for;
i. The Iris Scheme, a wonderful, brilliant plan wherewith the excrement of almost the entire population of the Island would be pumped at vast expense to a point near its Southern tip.
ii. Wasting millions on the last attempt to ruin the prom by putting the horse trams on the walkway.
iii. Peel Road Closure and the shambles of it's construction and re-construction.
iv. Wasting money on the Sloc.
v. Closure of the main North South route to the Airport for many months.
vi. The failure to notice the vulnerability of Old Laxey Bridge.
vii. The Diesel locomotive.
vii. Laxey Station re-development. (now we know of a "light rail agenda" we may have an explanation for the over-engineering of the poles and wires and why it looks like a Manchester Metro Station).
viii. Whatever happened in the Snaefell Tram Crash which destroyed an irreplaceable 1895 tramcar and could have killed people.
ix. Douglas Booking Hall re-development.
x. The Bendy Bus fiasco.
xi. Ramsey Station.
If the Minister took advice from those responsible for the above then it would be legitimate to ask why?
We are confronted will almost the same mantra as last time in seeking to justify an un-justifiable waste of public expense to date. The difference this time is that trams down the middle of the road are no longer "not an option"; it is suitable even for electric trams and "light rail" (wherever the money is going to come from for that grandiose scheme).
The Minister seeks to justify not running down the Loch Promenade on grounds of "traffic flow" when the Loch Promenade is wider. Buses regularly overtake horse trams without difficulty under the present arrangements.
The "savings" of £750,000 put forward under this proposal are unjustified. They are in any event considerably less than the "wastings" of in excess of £861,000 spent on consultants and the like for the previous aborted schemes.
In the last Planning Inquiry the Inspector found that the Douglas Promenade Conservation Area was " unique in that it stretches for around 1.5 miles along the eastern seaboard of the Island’s capital. In terms of its special character and appearance and in relation to why it was designated as such, its contribution to the special appearance of Douglas commenced prior to the Victorian era. However, it was during this period that the (Horse Tramway) was introduced and it provided the main public transport system along the Promenade for many years. It has thus become part of the defining fabric of the conservation area".
The Independent Inspector was then considering re-positioning the horse tramway to the side of the road, not removal and in that context said " Along the length of the Promenades the HDT route has always been read as a coherent and logical whole, providing a transport facility, within the highway, from one end to the other. The relationships of buildings - to highway.. (including the horse tramway)..- to the promenade walkways - to the sea walls and finally to the beach have remained constant over the years. The re-positioning of the (tram) route will significantly alter this recognised historic relationship." emphasis added.
The Department should not be spending any more money on preparation for this scheme in circumstances in which there is a clear doubt as to whether planning will ever be granted to remove the horse tramway from half of the Conservation Area.
In the background to the present proposals is a series of manouverings which it is unlikely will never be fully revealed.
A number of questions may be asked;
What was the deal between Douglas Council and the Department?
Why did Douglas Council retain a number of horse trams when the transfer occurred then sell them off with undue haste, announcing the sale just after Tynwald had risen?
Is it a co-incidence that that number of trams had to be got out of the Depot to enable stables to be put there, in turn enabling the old stables to be sold off for development?
Why is it that the Council and the Department has such confidence that they can do all these things in a Conservation Area?
Do they know something we do not?
One thing is certain, to demolish the stables and to alter the horse tram depot to accommodate new stables will require planning permission. So will lifting the track between the Sea Terminal and the Broadway. With this in mind the Manx Electric Railway Society has started an on-line petition objecting to any such development. We ask the public to support us; we need every signature.
We also ask all those MHKs who said they would support a full length horse tramway to continue to do so in the forthcoming vote.