Council agrees "Offer of Lease" for Thornton Gate

Blackpool Council's Asset Management Group has approved to lease the site at Thornton Gate to the LTT for the development of a Transport Heritage facility. This is fantastic news which now allows us to develop our plans for the site and apply for appropriate funding. As an early Christmas present, the Council forwarded the LTT an "Offer of Lease" on 23rd December.
In advance of this positive news, we commissioned architects to produce 3D drawings of what the site could look like, whilst construction company Parkinsons of Blackpool has offered to assist the LTT with cost projections.
The "Offer of Lease" recognises that the tramway contractors Bam Nuttall are likely to occupy the site until Easter 2012 and that the creation of a permanent home for the LTT tram collection is expected to take a further 12-18 months.

Gazette reports on pivotal Council meeting

The LTT's trams will remain in their Rigby Road depot home for another 12 months while an alternative destination is found for them. Blackpool Transport had told Lancastrian Transport Trust to move 13 of its trams out of the depot by the end of the month or face seeing them scrapped.
Coun Tony Williams, deputy leader of the Conservative group, proposed the motion to stop the trams from being sold off. He had called on the council to ask the chief executive to write to Trevor Roberts, the managing director of Blackpool Transport, “to request that Lancashire Transport Trust continue to enjoy a grace and favour rent period of a further 12 months up to December 1 2012”.
“I’m asking you to support the heritage of Blackpool, because the threat of scrapping trams is unforgivable.
Conservative leader Coun Peter Evans added: “It would be fantastic if we could have something similar to York’s railway museum. “It would be nice if we could support this.”
Instead, the motion was amended, but the trams will remain in the depot.
Both sides of the council spoke passionately about the importance of the trams and what they mean to the town.
Plans for a museum in Cleveleys seem to be the most likely destination for the vehicles.
Councillors voted in favour of giving the trust until the end of the calendar year to “come up with a credible plan” and show the trams can be moved into a new site.
However, Coun Simon Blackburn, leader of the council, said Blackpool Transport would allow the trams to remain in the depot for another 12 months. He said: “I believe we are all heading in the same direction. The trams are pivotal to Blackpool’s history and Blackpool’s future."
“Providing Lancastrian Transport Trust are able to come forward with funding and are able to make the contribution for storage, Blackpool Transport Services will allow them to store their whole fleet, not indefinitely, but for 12 months.”

Trams and politics don't mix!

At the full meeting of the Council on 23rd November, elected members voted to accept a revised motion that commits Blackpool Transport "to an extension of the agreement to sell and store surplus trams to the LTT if they can come up with a credible plan, before the end of the calendar year". Furthermore "the Chief Executive to write to the Managing Director of Blackpool Transport Services to confirm that negotiations with the LTT will continue".

The sting-in-the-tail however, was that the revised motion proposed by the Labour administration (proposed by Council Leader Simon Blackburn) failed to overturn Blackpool Transport's threat to charge £100 per tram, per week for storage.

Whilst wishing to stay out of the politics, the LTT would like to place on record our thanks to Councillor Tony Williams, Deputy Leader of the Conservative group, for proposing his original motion.

Today, LTT officers met with Wyre Borough Council planning team for informal discussions on the Thornton Gate plan - and received an excellent response and interest in the proposals presented.

Full Council to vote on tram storage issue

In a surprise move, a motion has been put for consideration at the full Executive Meeting of Blackpool Council on Wednesday 23 November to secure a stay of tenure for the LTT tramcar collection at the Council-owned Rigby Road depot site.

The motion, proposed by Councillor Tony Williams and supported by other councillors across the political spectrum, will be voted on by all Councillors in attendence at the meeting. The motion recognises the plans that the LTT has to develop a visitor attraction at the former tram depot sidings at Thornton Gate - reawakening a proposal originally drafted back in 2001.

The motion proposes that "the Council requests the Chief Executive to write to the Managing Director of Blackpool Transport Services to request that the LTT continue to enjoy a grace and favour rent period of a further twelve months up to the 1st December 2012, when their new building at Thornton Gate will be completed".

10 trams are affected by the threat of eviction - 304, 605, 624, 632, 671, 676/686, 704, 715 & 732 with Standard Car 143 still expected to be incorporated within the retained BTS operational fleet - once they complete their commitment to the lottery supported project.

Thornton Gate site selected as development option

Following talks with Blackpool Council and detailed discussions with the Blackpool Civic Trust and key Blackpool Councillors, the LTT has started negotiations on the terms of lease for the former tram sidings at Thornton Gate in Cleveleys.

The plan would involve the creation of a Transport Heritage centre on the site, which is currently being used as a construction compound for the tramway upgrade. However, the site will be vacated by Easter 2012 and the LTT has already started costing the options for erecting buildings on the site to store its vintage tram collection. Planning meetings are also advancing with a view to submitting a planning application early in 2012.

It is hoped that the plans which we feel will be "credible, achievable and deliverable" will be sufficient to secure continued accommodation of our vintage trams at the Council-owned tram depot at Rigby Road, until the site is ready to receive vehicles. The LTT is particularly pleased with the response from Blackpool Councillors and MPs across the political spectrum, and we will be keeping members fully informed of developments

We have drafted plans for a Transport Museum on the Thornton Gate site before - back in 2001, but these were rejected at the time because of possible use of the site for either a tram depot or turning circle as part of the tramway upgrade. Thankfully, Blackpool Council now accept that the site is redundant and offers a permanent home to the LTT tramway collection. We expect to have an offer of lease from Blackpool Council within the next two weeks.

632 and 715 star in last weekend of traditional trams

LTT's End of Season tour on Saturday 5 November saw Balloon 715 and Standard 147 make several trips between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham. A late flurry saw a sell out load start out from North Pier at 1400 and the cars returned to depot just after 2200. 715 was also hired (with Twin Car 675/85) by the Fylde Tramway Society on Sunday 6th.

Brush 632 was allocated to route 6 which is scheduled to work to Cabin and Pleasure Beach, 8 trips to North Pier and a final Cabin, Pleasure Beach then Foxhall working. Sunday saw it cover one Little Bispham working and its evening Cabin run became Bispham and in instead. 632 has seen extensive service use in September and October while 715 has seen use on Tram Driver Experience sessions, specials and was used for testing at Starr Gate on 2 November. 

Blackpool’s Tramway Heritage at Risk

The largest collection of vintage trams outside of the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire is at risk – and it is based here in Blackpool.


Ever since 1984, the Lancastrian Transport Trust has been collecting significant examples of Blackpool’s unique transport heritage and further examples have been added more recently as the tram fleet is thinned out ready for the new Supertrams to take over. In fairness Blackpool Transport, prompted by the Council to clear redundant trams from the Rigby Road depot, gave us notice 18-months ago that we would need to remove the vehicles. We have found homes for a couple of them in museums around the country – but this means that our priceless collection is being dispersed. We began talks with Council officers as soon as Blackpool Transport gave notice but now, with less than four weeks to go the collection risks being homeless. For the past 18-months we were just passed around from one officer to another.

The Trust has not been short of ideas. Dating back to 2002, the organisation has been submitting plans to Blackpool Council for a tramway visitor centre with proposals based at Starr Gate, Blundell Street and Thornton Gate, but none of them have been taken forward by the Council. We are also concerned at the official information about the tram fleet being retained on the tramway – 24 trams are being kept but 10 of these are substantially rebuilt double deck trams, plastered in advertising and rebuilt out of all recognition of their iconic heritage status, some are illuminated trams and very few represent the genuine article – unlike our own Blackpool collection.

Blackpool Council has, this week, offered to assist with locating an alternative site but the common sense, no cost answer of keeping them in the part of the tram depot that will soon become empty has already been rejected by Blackpool Transport and the Council.

History has a habit of repeating itself. Back in the 1960s when the last major tramway upheaval took place, many tramcar types either disappeared or were sent off to museums around the country, depriving Blackpool of a significant chunk of its tramway history. As the country’s first electric tramway, surely our unique collection deserves to be retained intact and in Blackpool?

For more information, visit www.ltt.org.uk or contact Paul Turner by email at paul@ltt.org.uk

Notes
Is the LTT Collection of significance?

Yes. It is the second largest collection of preserved heritage tramcars in the UK after the National Tramway Museum.

Isn't Blackpool Keeping 30 Heritage Trams?

The retained Blackpool Trams comprise:

• 10 Double Deck cars heavily rebuilt with modernised interiors and widened centre platforms. They are similar in appearance inside to buses from the early 2000s and even the one example which retained heritage features has lost many of them in the last year.
• 3 Illuminated Feature Cars - two of which were rebuilt from older cars in 2001 and 2004 and have no heritage feel or credentials
• 1 Works car
• 5 reserve cars - two open boats, two modernised double deckers and one modernised single decker
• Five Vintage Cars - Standard 147, Boat 600, Coronation 660 open top Balloon 706 and Balloon 717
• In addition the National Tramway Museums Fleetwood car 40 is retained on loan.

There are therefore six trams, plus the Western Train that have relevant tramway heritage, although these examples have generally been modified for regular operation on the tramway. The LTT has preserved tramcar types not being retained by Blackpool Transport, that will otherwise be lost – but we also have examples in more original condition.

Can ‘Museum’ Trams operate on the refurbished tramway?

Yes. The operation of the LTT’s Railcoach 632 and Balloon car 715 during 2011 has proven that these cars can work with the increased voltage - and our other cars will likewise. Vehicles would need to be fitted with transponders and minor modifications to lights may be required too. Similar modifications will be required to the retained cars in the Blackpool fleet - and the NTM's Fleetwood Box 40 - so this is not an issue.

Is there a commercial case for Heritage Tram Operation?

Yes, but such an operation needs to generate new revenue and not simply abstract passengers from the main tram service. We believe there is a viable demand for tourism related travel products such as sightseeing Tourist Trams, Wedding Guest transport to the new Wedding Chapel, themed Illuminations Tours, for example. These require above average management time to capture the business and market the products which does not fit with the business model of conventional public transport operators such as Blackpool Transport. Similar successful examples across Europe are generally managed independently.

Is there a Precedent for Museum and Tourist Car Operation on a modern tramway

Yes, many examples occur across Europe including regular operations in Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Lisbon, Zurich and others. There are also examples of museum facilities sharing depot accommodation with the tramway operator, with the best known examples being in Brussels and Lisbon.

Has the LTT presented its ideas?

Yes, we first submitted ideas to Blackpool Council back in 2002 for a Visitor Centre on the former Blundell Street depot site to be incorporated within the regeneration proposals. More recently, back in December 2010, we drafted a report to Blackpool Transport proposing partnership working to retain vintage tram operation on the upgraded tramway. The Blackpool Tramway is one of the resort’s key stories and we believe that the opportunity exists to develop a great “Blackpool Tramway Experience” visitor attraction.