A GROUP has come forward and said it wants to take on Branksome East Viaduct to save it from potential demolition by BCP Council.

The disused Victorian viaduct is earmarked on the council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDLP) for demolition by 2035 because it is “life expired”. 

It would cost around £2m to demolish the viaduct, but cabinet member Andy Hadley said there is no plans in place right now. 

Campaigner Richard Page, of the Branksome Triangle Committee, said he is committed to saving the viaduct and wants to acquire it. 

He said the east viaduct has been “neglected for decades” and added: “Left unmanaged the root growth on the deck is causing serious long term structural damage. 

“£2m is a huge sum of money BCP cannot afford to spend, but the BCP planners are clearly anticipating the time when as a matter of public safety it will be cheaper to fully or partially demolish the structure, rather than to continue maintaining it. 

(Image: Daily Echo)

“I am one of a group of several committed Branksome residents who want to save the East Viaduct. We want to acquire it for the community, to bring it back into public use and give it a new lease of life. We have a viable and sustainable plan to restore the viaduct to its former glory and maintain it.” 

He said he has taken inspiration from the National Trust’s restoration of the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and aims to create a Nature and Heritage Park in Branksome Triangle with the East Viaduct as the Branksome High Line connecting the Upper Gardens and Branksome Chine.

He said: "We can use the rare and beautiful asset that is the Branksome East Viaduct and create something truly amazing for residents, visitors and our cherished wildlife.

"It is extraordinary at a time when millions are spent nationally and internationally to create wildlife corridors over major roads, BCP is considering bucking the trend and demolishing the one they already have."

Mr Page said viability of the plan requires Branksome Triangle to be included in the acquisition, both for access and revenue generation.

He said: "For that to happen we must get the viaduct listed and defeat the council’s plan to build a gypsy and traveller Site on Branksome Triangle.

"BCP dropped that idea on us very late in the Local Plan process without any consultation; just as they failed to consult about the demolitions of a heritage asset."

 

Responding to questions from the Echo, BCP Council’s spokesman said inspection work is carried out around every three years, during which any flaking brickwork is carefully removed to prevent it falling onto the roads below. 

Each inspection takes six days of officer time and costs approximately £10,000 for access and traffic management. 

Closures of Surrey Road and Gordon Road for one day each are required to allow the inspection to be undertaken safely. 

Previously, repairs of the brickwork were carried out in 1998 costing £50,000 and some further remedial works costing £10,000 were undertaken in 2011 to support an area of brickwork. 

Mr Page said it is “ironic” that we have just remembered the 33 who were killed by the Germans on March 27, 1941 when bombs dropped towards the viaducts but hit the gasworks site, but BCP Council has “planned the destruction [...] that survived Hitler’s onslaught”. 

He said: “BCP have responded, saying no decision has been made. Yet nowhere does the Infrastructure Delivery Plan consider any option besides demolition.  

“It is beyond belief that BCP could ever countenance such a beautiful, historic and ecologically significant structure.” 

Richard Page on the history of Branksome East viaduct:

"The East Viaduct is a 100 metre long elegant curve of 10 locally fired red brick arches (actually it’s hard to know for sure because we can’t count them on the north side). It is decoratively ornamented with prominent keystones at the apex of each arch and horizontal string courses that add both visual interest and structural reinforcement. Rectangular columns project from the wall, providing additional support and enhancing the aesthetic appeal. 

"The viaducts are important in the history of BCP. The towns expanded rapidly in the Industrial Revolution with the coming of the railway from the mid 19th century. Branksome East Viaduct was built first in 1888 to connect the two Bournemouth stations; Bournemouth East and Bournemouth West. Branksome West followed in 1893. The East viaduct was decommissioned in 1965. The West Viaduct still carries the main railway line. 

"During WW2 the railway was a vital supply line to the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath. 

"The 1941 air raid was the single largest loss of life in Poole during WW2. The disused East Viaduct is an ecological as well as heritage asset. The southern edge leads directly on to the former British Rail coal yard at Branksome Triangle. Two thirds of the site is important wildlife habitat harbouring many protected species including Sand Lizard. The Northern side leads to the Upper Gardens. The now heavily overgrown viaduct deck forms a corridor in the ecological network than runs from nature depleted Branksome to Talbot Heath, Meyrick Park and Puggs Hole."