Falling Sands Viaduct
Falling Sands Viaduct (Bridge 3) was completed in 1877 as part of the Kidderminster Loop Line. It carries the railway across the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Conservation Area and 64 feet above the River Stour, about a mile from Kidderminster. It is built of red brick and is 132 yards in length, with seven arches of 46ft span.
After crossing the viaduct when travelling toward Bewdley, the area of land on the left of the line was the site of the former British Sugar Corporation's Foley Park Factory. The last visible structures on the site, two large silos, were demolished in 2012 and the area is now being developed for housing.
This area was also the site of the former Foley Park Halt.
Prospective repairs
Extensive repairs are needed to secure the Viaduct. Water has seeped into the structure causing cracks and erosion, and there is a speed restriction in place.
2016 HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) bid rejected
On 6 September 2016 the HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) rejected a bid from the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd for £902,200 but "agreed the project as a medium priority for support" and "noted that a strengthened resubmission that addressed [its] concerns would be welcomed." The concerns were "that community engagement and interpretation plans were not sufficiently strong."[1]
2017 HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) bid
As of 2018[update] the Trust has another bid seeking £1,018,100 from the HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) for a large part of the £1.275 million project total cost. In June 2017 the Trust secured almost £72,000 of HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) financial backing to develop its bid.[2] The SVRSevern Valley Railway has the challenge during 2018 of raising matched funding of £275,000 for which the Trust is co-ordinating efforts, and for which it has launched an appeal. The SVRSevern Valley Railway intends to submit the bid by October 2018.[3] If successful in securing HLFHeritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery Heritage Fund from 2019) support, the SVRSevern Valley Railway would intend to complete this urgent project in two stages by 2020.[4]
See also
Towards Kidderminster
List of infrastructure
Towards Bridgnorth
Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd
References
- ↑ Minutes - Heritage Lottery Fund: Committee for West Midlands Meeting on 6 September 2016
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway Facebook 18 June 2017
- ↑ Shareholders' Newsletter, undated
- ↑ 'Falling Sands Viaduct', Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust website (Retrieved 27 April 2017)
