Thousands has been spent to repair damage caused by vandals and clear up fly-tipped waste dumped on the tracks of one of the region’s most iconic rail routes.
East Lancashire Railway has warned that preparations for the reopening of the popular tourist attraction next month are sadly being hampered by continuing instances of fly-tipping and vandalism along the track, with the company revealing it has had to run regular clean up patrols over the past few weeks.
Volunteers have removed extensive amounts of rubbish dumped along the heritage railway’s twelve miles of tracks that stretch from Heywood in Greater Manchester to Rawtenstall in Lancashire.
The patrols have already collected six wagon loads of rubbish, which have included items as large as sofas and dining chairs.
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The clean up patrol missions have unfortunately also had the knock-on effect of preventing the East Lancashire Railway’s army of dedicated volunteers from focusing on their main priority of preparing the railway for its planned reopening on 1st May.
“It’s really frustrating to see rubbish casually dumped on the railway like this,” said Mike Kelly, Chairman of the East Lancashire Railway.
“The upsurge in anti-social behaviour has put further strain on our already fragile finances, as we have been forced to collect and remove all this waste we have to run special services and hire skips, which costs the railway several thousands of pounds we cannot afford to spend”.
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East Lancashire Railway
He continued: “As well as the litter, we’ve also suffered extensive vandalism to fences from the individuals who have been using the railway tracks as a dumping ground during lockdown”.
That’s not all either, as with safety trains running during the latest lockdown to maintain the line and prepare for reopening, East Lancashire Railway has also crucially warned that anyone trespassing on the railway is putting themselves in danger too.
“I would like to call on the help of the public,” Mike added.
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“And I would ask people to be vigilant and report any instances of trespass they may witness [as] stamping out on anti-social behaviour on the railway will help to keep the public safe and allow us all to focus on our top priority – the re-opening of an attraction that brings joy to so many”.
He also thanked the “fantastic volunteers” who are working to get the railway ready.
The ELR is back! 🚂🚆😊
Standard services will be running from 1st May onwards and Dining Services from 21st May. Pubs and the café will also be opening soon! Find out more here: https://t.co/LxIt6YTd8R
— East Lancashire Railway (@eastlancsrly) March 5, 2021
Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the heritage railway has been fighting for its survival as it has been deprived of vital visitor income for the majority of the past twelve months.
It has only been kept afloat only through its extensive fundraising efforts, loans and grants.
The railway is scheduled to reopen to the public with a number of COVID safety measures in place from 1st May 1st, alongside welcoming visitors to the two station pubs, and the Trackside at Bury and Buffer Stops at Rawtenstall, which will open on the 12th April for outside service.
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To support the railway as it prepares to reopen, you can donate to the East Lancashire Railway Support Fund, or grab yourself an advance booking ticket for a journey from 1st May.
You can also purchase gift vouchers and book tickets online here.
Featured Image – East Lancashire Railway
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Incredible misty drone footage shows how Manchester earned its ‘Manctopia’ nickname
Daisy Jackson
Drone footage captured from way above Manchester shows just how quickly the city has grown – and proves that our hometown is well on its way to earning its ‘Manctopia’ nickname.
Cast your mind back just a few years and you’ll remember that Beetham Tower stuck out like a sore thumb, towering many storeys above the next tallest building.
In fact, until just four years ago, the next-tallest building here was City Tower, which was a good 17 storeys shorter than Beetham Tower.
Then along came Renaker with visions for an entirely new skyscraper neighbourhood – Deansgate Square.
The drone footage captured above Manchester. Credit: Instagram @lef_tsotour
This group of skyscrapers now completely dominate the Manchester skyline, with the tallest building a massive 65 storeys tall.
South Tower is not only the tallest building in Greater Manchester, it’s also the 10th tallest in the entire UK, and the biggest outside of London.
It’s all led to Manchester being coined ‘Manctopia’, the name of a BBC documentary that followed property developers Capital & Centric as they redevelop buildings around the region.
One local photographer has managed to capture the unbelievable scale of our new, ultra-modern city skyline, with drone footage soaring among the skyscrapers.
Known on Instagram as @lef_tsotour, they shared a video taken on a misty Manchester morning.
It captures both Deansgate Square, with sun glinting off the many windows of the towers, and the now-dwarfed Beetham Tower.
You can also see the railway lines snaking through the city centre, cars nipping around the ring road, and the comparatively small apartment blocks around Castlefield.
Commenting on the video, one person said: “This is mint.”
Another wrote: “Fricken love this!!!!”
Featured image: @lef_tsotour
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Question Time audience stunned as first-time buyer says mortgage quote DOUBLED
Danny Jones
Thursday night’s Question Time audience could be heard audibly gasping after a fellow crowd member revealed that her mortgage quote had doubled followed the recent mini-budget.
Taping in Manchester on 29 September, the current events and politics programme was discussing property when would-be first-time buyer Rabia revealed that her mortgage offer had jumped from an initial amount of 4.5% interest to a shocking 10.5% in just a matter of days.
As you can see in the incredible clip, both the audience and the panel are taken aback at the revelation.
The gasps from the audience as this woman reveals she’s received a revised mortgage offer of 10.5%. pic.twitter.com/a5Nb1co8al
The Greater Manchester resident said she is desperate to know what the government’s plan for mortgages is as following the latest revision, she says she simply cannot afford to put the money down on her first home.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer weighed in on the social media reaction, quote tweeting the clip from his party’s own account and stating that “the Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget” as the current economic mess is being “paid for by working people”.
The government’s economic chaos is already clobbering those like Rabia who're trying to get a mortgage or to re-mortgage.
This crisis was made in Downing Street but it’s being paid for by working people.
The Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget. https://t.co/bw8B2TOUgl
To make matters worse, Rabia was given no clarification from her lenders, only that they were pulling her offers. Conservative MP and Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities, Paul Scully had little information to offer her either, simply stating it is a short-term effect and that the market will stabilise.
Scully was subject to an entirely different reaction from the audience as well after his blind attempts to defend Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were met with laughter. Conversely, Richard Bacon was met with applause after he labelled the mini-budget “absurd”.
As if the anti-Tory sentiment wasn’t already at a high, the chancellor’s mini-budget – which saw the corporations, bankers and the generally wealthy benefit ahead of the working class – has seen fresh calls for a general election to be held as soon as possible.
Beyond declaring a so-called £2,500 limit on energy bills (which many have warned isn’t a guaranteed cap), there was seemingly very little in the way of policy that
For those still unclear as to what was announced in the divisive mini-budget, here is a quick summary:
Speaking in a speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Starmer said that the government “haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed the windows and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure.
Emily Sergeant -
7th April 2021 
