East Lancashire Railway announces development plans for next 10 years

Date published: 19 June 2009

Find out what the plans mean for the ELR area, benefits for the community and what happens next.

Overview

The East Lancashire Railway Trust (comprising East Lancashire Railway, Rochdale Borough Council, Bury Council and Rossendale Borough Council) is hosting the launch of the ELR Railway Trust Development Strategy 2010- 2020.

The study has been carried by Locum Consulting over the last 12 months assessing the economic impact and benefits that the steam railway has brought to the local economy and community since its opening 20 years ago.

The study also identifies opportunities for expansion of the steam railway with an aim to increase visitor footfall from 110,000 a year currently to 200,000 a year by 2020 - bringing even more benefits to the ELR region.

The 10 year plan will include developments to the following ELR locations:

Heywood Station
Replace the existing temporary station with a permanent station building. ELR will work with Rochdale Borough Council to establish a development package for the immediate station area which will start to develop a wider visitor dimension and regenerate this part of Heywood including better linkage with the town itself.

Extension to Castleton, Rochdale

The closure of the Corus site at Castleton opens up the possibility of extending the ELR tourist line from Heywood to join up with Network Rail at its Castleton Station. Doing this will provide many benefits both to the ELR and the wider Castleton community - enabling the ELR to arrive right in the heart of Castleton Village and link up with the Rochdale Canal which is steadily attracting investment. It will also provide a Network Rail/ELR public transport interchange. The ELR can do for Castleton Village what it has done for Ramsbottom in kick starting its revitalisation.

Bury Transport Museum
The reopening of an enhanced ELR Transport Museum in October 2009 will vastly improve the visitor experience of the ELR - as well as introducing a stronger educational, training and restoration skills element. Visitors will be able to see restoration projects in progress and better understand the importance of the railway in the economic and social development of the area.
As part of the re-opening arrangements a full time Education Officer has been appointed to mastermind a launch strategy to give the Museum maximum appeal and interest.

Buckley Wells Heritage Centre, Bury
At the heart of the Buckley Wells site is a 4,000m2 Grade II listed building dating back to 1857 - believed to be the oldest continuously operational locomotive works in Britain. The development will establish a major new heritage railway visitor centre that will contribute significantly to the ELR target of attracting 200,000 visitors per annum.

The regeneration of this extensive 8ha site will also provide much needed business space to support organisational growth and build a new carriage shed for the protection of vulnerable rolling stock. The project will add significantly to the ELR visitor experience - increasing the length of visit, extending the appeal to new audiences and adding new facilities for visitors.

Rawtenstall Station
Whilst Rawtenstall Station has an attractive building its current facilities and setting provides a poor visitor experience for disembarking passengers. The ELR will work alongside Rossendale Borough Council to carry out a series of improvements to make the visitor experience much more attractive. It will comprise improved café facilities, platform canopy and improved links to the town centre including better tourism information facilities and joint promotional opportunities working with local businesses.

Burrs Halt Country Park

The railway currently passes through the attractive Burrs Country Park which recently achieved “green flag” status but doesn’t stop. A new halt/stop will be built in the park for trains to link up with the popular caravan site, its many riverside walks and the country park’s multi activity outdoor centre.

Ramsbottom Destination Plan

Already the most well established visitor destination on the line, the aim of the Ramsbottom Destination Plan is to raise the town’s profile even higher to encourage higher visitor footfall to position it a destination of choice. The success of Ramsbottom’s first Chocolate Festival held in April and the ELR’s annual 40’s Weekend and Christmas programme points the way .

East Lancashire Light Railway (ELLR) Company Business Improvements

In addition to the physical improvements the Locum report has charted an improvement programme to give the ELLR Company more expertise in areas of commercial, marketing and customer satisfaction development. The recommendations made by Locum Consulting have been fully embraced by the ELR Trust and will be taken forward as part of the overall 10 year Action Plan.