THE LOCAL PLAN Initial Consultation - Dec 2013 - March 2014 FORM C – CALL FOR SITES

Why are we consulting?

The City Council is preparing a Local Plan for Liverpool. Covering a period of at least 15 years, this document will contain policies on housing, employment, shopping and other land uses and it will also allocate sites for such uses.

In accordance with Government Regulations1, the City Council is now notifying interested bodies and persons, and inviting representations on what the Local Plan should contain.

The Local Plan will allocate sites for development, and identify land to be protected from development. If you wish to propose a site to be allocated for a particular type of development (e.g. housing, employment etc.) OR a site to be protected from development, please use this Form

 If you wish to make a quick comment on what you think the Plan should contain, please use Form A

 Alternatively, if you wish to make more detailed comments on what the Plan should contain, please use Form B, which has a number of questions on housing, employment and other types of development

If you require further information, please see the “Shaping the Liverpool Local Plan” document, which can be found on line at www.liverpool.gov.uk/consultation. Hard copies are also available from the Development Plans Team, Planning & Building Control, Millennium House, 60 Victoria Street, Liverpool L1 6JD. Tel. 0151 233 3021. Email: [email protected]

Please return all completed forms to one of the addresses below by 31st March 2014

Your contact details* *if an agent is appointed, please provide their contact details, as appropriate Name Bill Harper Job Title (if appropriate) Owner Organisation (if appropriate) Snooze Guest House

Address (inc. Postcode) 1 Fairfield Crescent Roby Liverpool L36 4JG

Telephone Number 07733 887 804 Email [email protected] I own a small hotel in Wavertree and this will What is your interest in the site? improve my business but also I have become very interested in this project and I feel George (Owner/Lessee/Prospective purchaser/neighbour etc.) Stevenson should be remembered for his contribution to the city

Please return completed form(s)to : By Email [email protected] In Person Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH FREEPOST RRUK-HRTT-LATT, Liverpool City Council, Planning and Building Control, By Post Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH Note that all comments will be made available for the public to read and therefore cannot be treated as confidential. (NB: Only the consultee name will be included in published reports).

1 Regulation 18, Town and County Planning (Local Planning) () Regulations 2012 Introduction

As part of its early consultation on its new Local Plan, Liverpool City Council is inviting landowners, developers, businesses and members of the public to submit details of:

 sites considered suitable for development / redevelopment over the next 15-20 years - especially for housing, employment, retail and leisure / commercial uses; and/or,

 land which it is considered should be protected from development.

Information from all sites submitted, either for development / redevelopment or land to be safeguarded, will help us determine land allocations and designations in the City’s new Local Plan. Putting a site forward in this exercise does not guarantee that the Council will allocate / designate it or support its development / protection in the future. All sites will need to be judged against relevant planning policies and other considerations.

For assistance on completing the form please read the Guidance Notes below. If you require further assistance please contact the Development Plans Team, as above.

PLEASE USE A SEPARATE FORM FOR EACH SITE (1) Site Details Name of site / other Edge Hill Railway Cutting, Crown Street Park, The Stevenson , names it is known by and The Wapping Tunnel

Chatsworth Drive Edge Hill Address Liverpool

Postcode: L7 6LF Ordnance Survey Easting OS Grid. Ref: SJ367898 Northing Grid Reference It is essential that you provide a map showing the site’s location and detailed boundaries. Please see the accompanying guidance note or the website for information on how to obtain an appropriate map.

(2) Proposed future use(s)

Are you proposing that this site be developed Yes OR protected from developmentYes Please tick as appropriate If you are proposing a site for development, please complete this and all subsequent sections.

If you are proposing that a site be protected from development, please fill in relevant sections.

2.1 Please indicate the preferred use that you would like the site to be considered for. 2.2 Please also indicate any other uses you would consider acceptable. (If you wish the site to be considered for a mix of uses, please tick all uses that apply.) Commercial Residential Employment Retail Other* Leisure 2.1 Preferred future use     Yes 2.2 Alternative future      use(s) # houses: ____ 2.3 Potential Capacity ______SqM _____ SqM ______SqM _____ SqM or # flats:_____

* If “Other”, please indicate which use(s): A Museum Park

2.4 Has any design work been done (for any use)? Yes  No  No (3) Site Ownership 3.1 Please record the details of the owner(s) of the site. If there are more than three owners, please record the 4th owner, etc. on a separate sheet. Please indicate the extent of individual landholding(s) on the site map. If you do not know who owns the site, please state so below.

Owner 1 Owner 2 Owner 3 Name City Council Network Rail Network Rail Kings Place PO BOX 1976 90 York Way Liverpool London Address N1 9AG L69 3HN

Or: I do not know who owns the site   3.2 Has the owner (or each owner) indicated support for proposed redevelopment? Please also record these details for the 4th and subsequent owners (where necessary). Yes    No No No No Don’t    know (4) Market Interest Please choose the most appropriate category below to indicate what level of market interest there is in the site. Any comments Site is owned by a  No developer Site under option to a  No developer Enquiries received  Site is being marketed  None  Not known  Not Known

(5) Site Condition 5.1 Please record the current use(s) of the site (or for vacant sites, the previous use, if known). Mostly Derelict or open park. Part of cutting is used as a dated Current use(s) Head Shunt once a day If Previous use(s) Cutting:Hub of the First Proper Railway, Park: as coal yard vac ant Date last used 1836 and 1980

5.2 What proportion of the site is made up of buildings, and what proportion is (open) land? Proportion covered by 0% Proportion not covered by buildings 100% buildings

5.3 If there are buildings on the site, please answer the following questions: How many buildings are there on the site? buildings What proportion of the buildings are currently in % in use: % use? % derelict: % Approximately what year were the buildings built? (If there is a mix of buildings, please give the age of the predominant building type.)

5.4 For the parts of the site not covered by buildings, please answer these questions: What proportion of the land is currently in active use? 10 % What proportion is greenfield (not previously developed)? 0 % (A)* What proportion is previously developed and cleared? 90 % (B)* What proportion is previously developed but not cleared? 10 % (C)* (e.g. demolition spoil, etc.) * A plus B plus C should add to 100%. Please provide any additional comments on a separate sheet if necessary. (6) Constraints to Development Please tell us about any known constraints that will affect development for the proposed use, details of what action is required, how long it will take and what progress has been made. Please use a separate sheet where necessary to provide details. Confirmed by Constraint Yes, No Nature and Action needed, or Don’t severity of timescales and technical study or by know constraint progress service provider? Yes No a) Land contamination Don’t   Know b) Land stability Don’t   Know c) Mains water supply Don’t   Know d) Mains sewerage Don’t   Know e) Electricity supply Don’t   Know f) Gas supply Don’t   Know g) Telecommunications Don’t   Know h) Highways no   i) Ownership, leases Don’t   etc. Know j) Ransom strips, Don’t   covenants Know k) Drainage, flood risk Don’t   Know l) Other (please provide Don’t   details) Know

(7) Site Availability Excluding planning policy constraints, when do you believe this site could be available for development? Immediatel (Note: to be “immediately available”, a site must be cleared of all buildings, y  unless buildings are being considered for conversion.) If not immediately, please state when it could be available: 2014 (Year) If the site is not available immediately, please explain why – e.g. the main constraint(s) or delaying factor(s) and actions necessary to remove these:

The park, cutting and need to be brought under one owner. If the Railways are cooperative then this could be a matter of months (8) Any Other Information Please tell us anything else of relevance regarding this site. Please explain in as much detail as possible why you are proposing the development or protection of the site and provide evidence for the points you make.

See attached document Guidance Notes How the site information will be used Information from all sites submitted either for development / redevelopment or land to be safeguarded will inform the Local Plan process. We must stress that putting a site forward in this exercise does not guarantee that the Council will allocate / designate it or support its development / protection in the future. All sites will need to be judged against relevant planning policies and other considerations.

Two previous ‘Call for Sites’ exercises have been carried out by the City Council. The first, in 2008, was for sites for housing only, as part of the City’s original Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA). The second, in 2010, was for all uses and also covered land to be protected. Its main purpose was to inform early work on sites and allocations under the old Local Development Framework plan-making system, but was also used to inform the SHLAA update.

If you submitted site suggestions to those earlier exercises and your submissions remain valid, we ask you to re-submit as part of this Local Plan Regulation 18 consultation. This will enable the City Council to take account of the most up-to-date position on development intentions and site availability. Sites identified for housing, or for mixed use development including housing, will be considered for inclusion in future updates of the City’s SHLAA.

How to fill in the Call for Sites Form Most of the fields on the form should be self-explanatory; further guidance is provided below. If you are identifying a site for development / redevelopment, please fill in all sections of the form. If you are identifying land to be protected from development, please fill in as many sections as possible.

Submitting more than one site You are welcome to submit a number of different sites. We will require a separate form to be used for each site. However, it will be sufficient to simply record your own name and interest in the site on page 2 of the form (“Your details”) for second and subsequent forms.

Section 1 – Contact details Your contact details are required, and as this is a public consultation process, your name and organisation and the site location will be published with your representation. Please note that sites cannot be treated as confidential. However, in accordance with the Data Protection Act, no other personal details will be divulged to third parties or published without your permission. An email address is helpful as it enables us to save time and paper contacting you. You do not necessarily need to be the owner of a site to promote it for development; please indicate your interest in the site at the end of Section 1.

Section 1 – Site location plans We need to be able to clearly identify the location and boundaries of all sites that are submitted. We require a good quality map at a scale which shows the detailed site boundaries, and any surrounding buildings, with the site boundary clearly edged with a red line. This is so that we can precisely identify the site and record it on our own mapping system. More than one site boundary may be marked on one map (e.g. if they are close together), provided the sites are clearly labelled.

Ordnance Survey base site plans can be purchased from: Entwistle 19 Hatton Garden, Liverpool, L3 2DH (Tel: 0151 236 5151) email: [email protected]

Or,

Blackwell Alsop Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5TX (Tel: 0151 709 8146) E-mail: [email protected]

Site plans can also be purchased online from CentreMaps, an external supplier whose website is www.centremapslive.co.uk.

For a demonstration of how to obtain an electronic location plan from CentreMaps please view the following webpage: http://www.centremapslive.co.uk/page/a_quick_flash_demonstration.

Please note that before you can use CentreMaps you will need to download and install the Adobe SVG viewer by visiting this website: http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install

Alternatively, site plans can be created using internet sources such as Bing or Google Maps.

Please call if you need further advice.

Section 4 – Ownership You do not need to be the owner of a site to promote it for development. The Council does not tend to hold information on who owns land (apart from its own). If you require details of who owns a particular site, we suggest you contact the Land Registry.

Section 7 – Site constraints We are asking for an indication of the extent of various constraints which may affect how easily or quickly the site could be developed. Please provide supporting evidence, wherever possible. It is important to note, as already stated, that the Council will make its own assessment of these matters for each site, perhaps in consultation with utilities providers, the highways authority, etc, and may come to a different conclusion from that submitted on the form. However, any information provided on these forms will be a useful starting point in assessing each site. Why I am proposing the Development and Protection of the Edge Hill Cutting and connected Tunnels

Edge Hill Cutting layout

Cutting, and Crown St

Firstly, I believe this is one of the most important sites in World History. It was here that Mankind first created a complete passenger and goods transport system which had no reliance on horses or any other animal. The justification of this extremely bold statement follows with detailed references to the associated literature on the subject.

Secondly I believe that if it were to be developed into a Museum Park it could provide a tourist attraction drawing people from across the world interested in the fundamental role Liverpool played in developing the first proper alternative to horse drawn transport and how this enabled Lancashire to bring the Industrial Revolution to the world. Done well, this venture would easily attract more visitors than either York's National Railway Museum or Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry each of which attracts 4-800 000 visitors each year. The impact on Liverpool's economy and image could be significant.

1 Context

The Moorish Arch the East End of the Edge Hill Cutting

For reasons difficult to understand Liverpool has forgotten or denied its heritage on this front whilst other cities have embraced our Rocket and the Liverpool Manchester Railway to our exclusion. Because of our neglect Manchester has virtually claimed ownership of the project and London houses the Rocket in its Science Museum. My guess is that whilst inland people were emancipated by the innovation of railways, people who lived in ports like Liverpool already had a means of escape from their existing lot and had already fallen in love with ships and world travel. Whatever the explanation, very few people nowadays associate the origin of railways with Liverpool and I have met much incredulity when expressing these ideas. The Museum of Liverpool Life is a brilliant concept but it portrays this rejection of our heritage perfectly. It has just one mention of George Stevenson, and at Edge Hill there are just a couple of plaques commemorating what looks like a toy train by Hornby perhaps.

In order to establish the facts of the matter I will refer to 2 supporting books on the subject of what was widely regarded throughout the civilised world at the time as "The Great British Experiment" that changed the world. Robert Carlson's "Liverpool and Manchester Railway" and RHG Thomas's "Liverpool and Manchester Railway Project 1821-31" are both rich factual accounts and here I will briefly state some of the facts about the development of the first viable alternatives to horse drawn transport. Google and Wikipedia are also a great cross references, https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man- scw:123553&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF and Metal's Edge Hill site has some fascinating articles at http://www.edgehillstation.co.uk/category/the-station-and-railway-pioneers/. A google search will find many other sites. I have extracted all the relevant "firsts" from the Wikipedia Transport Timeline and these form an appendix at the end.

As certain as these facts are, they are neither widely known nor well understood. If this museum ever gets off the ground this disadvantage will become a great advantage because it will be controversial and it will attract much press coverage. People will come to see for themselves to resolve the discrepancy, but first I hope to convince any doubters within the City Council that what I have said is true.

2 Justification of the importance of this site as The First Proper Alternative to the Horse

The background and the Problems we faced in the early 19th Century

In the early 19th century British Coal mines were the first places in the world to develop the application of steam power and it was primarily used to pump water out of the mines (How to read industrial Britain -Tim Cooper page 20). After a number of abortive experimental engines by Trevithick, Murray, and Hackworth, The Geordie mine mechanic, George Stephenson developed some of the first commercially viable machines capable of self propulsion to haul coal to the canal from the Killingworth mine where he worked. With this experience he got the job to build the Stockton Darlington track which was completed in 1826. Carlson p35. This groundbreaking project was a single track open to anyone to use for a fee just like the 60 year old canals. Much of the traffic was horse drawn and this is what makes the Liverpool Manchester line so important. However, the importance of this line is that Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 was used on the parts where the gradient was not too steep and it is seen as the first pubilc railway where steam locomotives were used (in addition to horses). Stationary engines and ropes were used to draw vehicles up several inclines. There were many problems and breakdowns not least because it was run like a canal and overtaking or travel in opposite directions could only take place at passing places.

However, it was undeniably the first ever public transport with any mechanical traction and Stevenson had learned much from this exercise. Stephenson's crowning glory, however, was to be the Liverpool Manchester line where for the first time in history public transport placed NO reliance on horses. After its opening George's identity changed from being a clever Geordy Mine Mechanic to "The Father of the Railways"

The Pillars of Hercules the West End of the Edge Hill Cutting

At this time Liverpool's trade was still expanding rapidly in spite of the abolition of the disgraceful UK Slave trade in 1807. The abolition took one side away from the infamous Triangular Trade which had been so incredibly lucrative for the previous 3 generations of Liverpool traders but from then on King Cotton was to rule leading to the massive expansion in population of Liverpool from 80k in 1800 to 700k in 1900. We continued to use the products of the slave workforce and it was not until 1833 that Parliament abolished slavery in the Caribbean.

3 Apart from the skills of the traders and seafarers, the main reason for Liverpool's subsequent success was that it was the gateway to the world for the Industrial Revolution. Lancashire and Cheshire were the pioneers of steam powered machinery and many radical innovations like the Spinning Jenny were being developed to manufacture predominantly cotton goods. These new mills could process raw materials at unheard of rates and produce finished goods on an unprecedented scale. The problem was that the traders could not get enough cotton to the factories and could not get finished goods back to Liverpool ships quickly enough to supply the world markets. They could get cotton from the Caribbean to Liverpool in less time than it took to reach Manchester and by their own admission they were frequently forced to use pack horses when the barges were full, or the canals had frozen or were dry. Thomas p 11-12

Originally, travel to and from Liverpool was via the turnpike road by pack horse. The turnpike (the A57 Presot road) was then just a track suitable for pack horses and later horse drawn wagons but passage was at the mercy of floods and robbers. Revolutionary "navigations" had been created starting in the 1760s just as cotton was beginning to be imported. The Mersey had been made navigable above Widnes to reach Manchester much earlier but by 1870 the Sankey canal (the first British Canal) linked the estuary with St Helens largely to provide coal to the two growing towns of Liverpool and Manchester, the Bridgewater canal linked Runcorn with Manchester, and the Leeds Liverpool canal was available to connect more northerly Lancashire towns like Wigan with the port. All these water-borne routes were unreliable, tortuous, slow, hugely expensive, and again subject to frequent robbery. The Bridgewater Trust was making £100,000 every year for the Marquess of Stafford, but the traders of Liverpool were apoplectic. Carlson p29 and 78

Liverpool's solution to the inadequacy of road and canal transport

A group of traders (20 from Liverpool and 10 from Manchester) led by Joseph Sandars, a Liverpool corn merchant, decided that the way forward was to lay a set of rails on a purpose built roadway of some sort between Liverpool and Manchester. This Provisional Committee held their first formal meeting at the offices of Pritt and Clay Solicitors (Carlson p54) in Liverpool in 1822 and later their "Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company" occupied offices in Liverpool's Clayton Square. On 2nd August 1822 the Liverpool Mercury published their First Public Notice that they intended to build their "Iron Railway between Manchester and Liverpool" (Carlson p56). The letter was also published in the Times and Manchester Guardian under the same title. The last sentence of the notice added that "The use of steam carriages is contemplated" and the editor of the Mercury hailed the day when "inanimate machinery shall be substituted for horses". (Carlson pp55-56)

The representatives of the Provisional Committee recruited from Manchester "played by no means as important a part as did their Liverpool colleagues" according to all available sources e.g. Carlson p49.

Sandars hired the best engineer for the job to build the route setting him up in 36 Upper Parliament St (next to the library) on £1000 pa (one hundreth of the income to the Marquess of Stafford from the Bridgewater canal). The self taught Stevenson who had previously lived only in a miner's cottage was well impressed but humble as he was, he eventually persuaded them to completely depart from horse drawn transport (Thomas p18). Even though he was not a recognised civil engineer he had the drive, commitment, experience and resourcefulness to get the job done. There were many qualified engineers in London but their reputations were too precious to risk on such an outlandish scheme and the week- long journey to Liverpool by stage coach was decidedly off-putting to these Londoners even though

4 Lancashire's Industrial Revolution was already leading the world. Their consensus was that the task of building such a track was impossible across such places as Chat Moss - a huge barrier between Newton- le-Willows and Salford.

Crown St Station now part of Crown St Park

Stevenson's struggles with the powers of the time are well documented and reveal the distasteful vested interests of Land and canal owners like the Duke of Bridgewater, Lords Derby and Sefton, and even, it must be said, the Liverpool Common Council. (Thomas p 23 and Carlson p45, 71-73,96) (Even though the Mayor was an active member of the Provisional Committee). All were united in their violent deceitful self interested opposition to this innovation and were successful in trashing Stevenson's surveyors, his equipment, and his reputation, eventually quashing the first Parliamentary Bill in 1825. Carlson p120-132. Undaunted, the Traders sacked the disgraced Stevenson and hired a "respectable" London engineer to re-survey the line with many concessions to the objectors and with a hint that real horses would be used rather than "steam horses". Later they reversed these decisions and re-instated the Black Sheep Stevenson after their Second Bill had been passed in 1826. Their tactics appear slightly less than honorable but they were certainly effective in the face of the dishonorable established order. (Carlson 140-168).

To cut a long and fascinating story very short George Stevenson eventually overcame Chat Moss and many other difficulties (e.g. gradients at Wavertree and the docks) but was exasperated by the lack of confidence even within sections of the company in his self-propelled engines. The line's only precursor was the Stockton Darlington line, Stevenson's previous effort, and that was heavily dependent on horses and stationery engines. The trader's options at that time still included the use of horses and stationery engines to pull carriages and carts along the line but he eventually coerced the directors into setting up a competition for all-comers to build engines and compete for a £500 prize. The Rocket's resounding victory at the world famous Rainhill Trials (6th October 1829) proved far more than that his son's machine was the best in the world. More importantly, it proved that a viable alternative to the horse existed and that it could be sufficiently light and powerful to cover the main route unaided by the static engines or horses. (Carlson p223-224). The committee henceforth abandoned all thoughts of horses and static engines were used only between Edge Hill, the docks, and the passenger terminal at Crown Street.

The Opening 15th September 1830

The opening of the line was marked by a huge public attendance of around 50 000 at Edge Hill and Crown St . This is an amazing number considering they must have mostly come on foot and the population of Liverpool at the time was just 200 000... "The nearby grandstands rapidly filled and crowds

5 extended on both sides of the line for 7 or 8 miles from the city." (Carlson p231) "all in their best and brightest apparrel... no work was done that day" Thomas p 83. All invited passengers attended except Lord Derby and included The Duke of Wellington (Prime Minister), Earls, A Marquess, Viscounts, Bishops, MPs, and great Engineers.carlson p 231 thomas p77. 2 medals were struck and elaborate entertainment arranged at the Adelphi. A Manchester warehouse provided lunch for the planned brief stay before the return journey to Liverpool. Press coverage reached unprecedented levels and Liverpool was jam packed with visitors from the UK and the rest of the world . Two military Bands (The Duke's and the King's Own Regiment) played and a signal gun was fired to start the procession of trains along the 2 lines amidst a deafening roar from the crowds lining the top of the Edge Hill Cutting.

Huskisson's tragic death marred the day and prevented the full celebrations from taking place. I fully appreciate the great part he played in persuading the Marquess not to object again in Parliament and his general support was beyond question but he himself would not have wanted his death to play a part in reducing the importance of the event.

To fully understand this excitement you must remember that today's equivalent technology breakthrough would be a ride to the moon. Railways then had not become the regimented timetabled bastion of orthodoxy they are now. They were vehicles which could all but fly at speeds beyond comprehension that could possibly shatter the human frame, horses would bolt, cows and women miscarry, and birds would fall from the sky - according to the press of the time.

The effects of the railway on the world

Amongst numerous other accolades this was to be the first time since mankind had walked the planet that we completely abandoned the services of another creature to do the walking for us.

The Rocket in its original colours now in a London Museum

George's son, Robert, was largely responsible for the creation of the Rocket built in their Newcastle factory and transported by horse drawn wagon to Liverpool across the Pennines (how else?). George and also Henry Booth the company accountant made suggestions but the phrase "Stevensons' Rocket" remains to this day as an almost uniquely famous link between a machine and its creators. Henceforth the Rocket formed the basis of every locomotive built in the world until the advent of the diesel engine in the 20th Century.

The impact of the railway concept on people across the world has been enormous. Before this project a man could walk at 4mph, on horseback he/she could travel an average 8mph and on a good road the fastest mail coaches with thoroughbred horses slickly changed every few miles could take him at maybe

6 12 mph average if lucky. After the opening on 15th September 1830 averages of 17mph were timetabled and knuckle whitening velocities of 40mph were possible. For the vast majority of passengers this would be the fastest they ever travelled in their lives.

Without this railway it can be agued that the industrial revolution may have taken place elsewhere. In its first year it conveyed 91,000 tons of freight and 445,000 passengers. The price of canal carriage was halved. Before the railway there were 45 cotton brokers in Liverpool and by 1845 there were 111. If the stranglehold of the canal companies had not been removed then the finance supporting the development of the Lancashire mills may well have collapsed. The USA, Russia, Germany and France were all waiting in the wings for the outcome of the "Great British Experiment" and even London with all its vast financial resources could have started building proper factories. Lancashire and therefore Liverpool would have withered on the vine. Instead, because of the success of this venture, Liverpool went on to handle 40% of the world's trade. Without the railway this could never have been possible.

This project enabled working people without horses to travel outside the 12 miles radius within which the majority of our species had lived their entire lives before 1830. They were suddenly able to escape the grip of their "Lords and Masters" and see the world first hand and this liberated the minds of millions. (Of course males who lived in sea ports could already escape their tethers by sea - perhaps this explains why the railway has never been taken into our Scouse hearts as much as it deserves.) It even forced the country-wide standardisation of time and the trade of selling the correct time was introduced. Lancashire 's Industrial Revolution as well as its produce was exported worldwide via this railway through the . Railways built on this template opened up the vast continents of Asia, the Americas, Africa and Australia and along every line towns increased their trading capacity and ability to feed and clothe their citizens. Produce could be obtained from anywhere - not just for the rich, and markets were created miles from the jobs which kept people fed.

There are few other peaceful projects in the history of mankind which have had such a direct and widespread effect on people and their lives throughout the world. It can be thought of as the herald of the modern world where meritocracy is gradually replacing aristocracy. The heroes of the day were the self taught men of poor origins who drove the engines and built the system in spite of vehement opposition from the landed gentry. Not many now remember that the Duke of Wellington was riding on behind in his suddenly-anachronistic plumed head-dress. Other countries like France and Russia underwent violent bloody revolutions in attempts to achieve such objectives but we gave birth to the Industrial Revolution instead.

This Project belonged to Liverpool

Liverpool not only hosted but it owned this project from conception to inception and benefitted enormously for many years going on to become the world's most successful port. The biggest port in the biggest empire that ever screwed this planet. Understandably, there were more shareholders of this Liverpool-based company here than anywhere else. Of the 4000 shares eventually created in the company, about 2000 were owned by Liverpool people. 1000 shares persuaded the Duke of Bridgewater not to object to the 2nd Bill, about 800 were owned by Londoners and a few were owned by just 15 Mancunians. Without a shadow of doubt Liverpool is the home of the Rocket and the Railway.

7 The essentials of the story typify Liverpool projects: The struggle against the powers that be for a fair solution, the vilification in the press, the line up of the highest paid lawyers in Parliament against our man, the subsequent mischievous naming of the Rocket after a press remark that "I would rather be fired on the back of a Rocket than ride one of Stevenson's Locomotives", the tragedy of Huskisson, the competitive relationship with Manchester, the hewing out of chasms in Edge Hill and Olive Mount by Navvies with picks and shovels and the never say die attitude in the face of public derision and humiliation forcing the successful solution to Chat Moss and the eventual adoption of self propelled engines. The miner George Stevenson shared the same working class principles for which this city is now famous and his stated determination to provide affordable travel for working people for the first time ever is just one example of his humanity. The village he built for colliery workers in later life is another. The hardware of our heritage

At each end of the line was a station. In 1980 after the 150 year celebrations, the Liverpool Street Station in Manchester became the nucleus of the great Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. The corresponding complex of stations in Liverpool was a much more extensive, and grandiose arrangement but it has never received the attention lavished on the ticket office at the other end of the line. The hub of the complex in Liverpool was the Edge Hill Cutting not to be confused with the small station which now exists as Edge Hill Station about half a mile away. The 45 foot deep cutting though Edge Hill was necessary to enable the Rocket to reach the edge of Liverpool because the engine never had had the power to climb from Wavertree over the top of Edge Hill. The cutting is now surrounded by a sandstone wall, and is visible to the public only by looking over the 7 ft wall in Chatsworth Drive.

Edge Hill at the opening

Manchester's equivalent

8 The paintings by Bury of the Cutting depict the magnificent Moorish Arch, the Pillars of Hercules, the carriage of The Duke of Wellington on the occasion of the opening of the station, the Rocket, the crowds of onlookers (including dignitaries and engineers from every leading nation on the planet) and the cavernous setting. The BBC Documentary by Dan Snow stated that these paintings were said to depict the first truly modern scene. Another famous quote is that Once the Rocket departed from Edge Hill on 15 September 1830 the world would never be the same again.

From this station in the Edge Hill Cutting 2 tunnels lead to separate termini for passengers and goods. These were the first tunnels under streets ever to be built. Arriving passenger carriages were hauled by an endless rope connected to a static engine 300m up to Crown Street station. Arriving goods were lowered by similar arrangement a mile down to where they could be unloaded directly into a warehouse built above the track. At first the tunnels were gas lit and whitewashed and tourists paid a shilling to walk through the Wapping tunnel before the opening of the line (Thomas p 76). This entrance fee must have been a huge amount at the time and demonstrates the prestige of this project even before the opening and the proceeds were given to charity.

The rest of the UK waited 10 years before the "Railway Mania Boom" gripped the country but meanwhile Liverpool consolidated its grip on the claim to be the first Railway Town. During this process Liverpool Common Council dropped its objections and permitted the building of Lime Street station, the fore-runner of the much celebrated St Pancras Station, thus eliminating the need for Crown Street. Sadly, this first passenger station ever to be used in the world became simply a coal depot and the Moorish Arch in the Edge Hill cutting was demolished to enlarge the access for the vastly increasing goods traffic which essentially must have financed the world's first Industrial Revolution.

Further tunnels were built to reach the docks and much later the Docker's umbrella.

Changes have continued to this day and have eroded much of the original heritage but the cutting remains as do the tunnels and some buried industrial archeology.

A replica of Stevenson's Rocket was built using Heritage funding and is housed at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry along with some of the components of the static engines from Edge Hill. The Rocket is often transported by rail all over the country to different events but from this year it will no longer be possible from Manchester because their link to the rail network is being severed by a new development. I imagine York's National Railway Museum would vie to become the new home of the replica but it is now struggling with a funding shortage and is under threat. The opportunity for Liverpool to regain its links to the original momentous machine we financed must not be missed this time. When Liverpool's MP Huskisson was so tragically killed by the Rocket on the opening day it was debated that the journey to Manchester should be terminated immediately but it was always certain that the Rocket would return to its home in Liverpool to mourn the death of one of its staunchest supporters.

The ultimate goal could be to bring the Original Rocket home in time for the 200th Anniversary and garage it in the tunnel of its fathers' name where it belongs after being "held hostage" in the home of their antagonists for so long. (His antipathy to London and the scientific establishment is well documented - check out Stevenson's miner's lamp vs Sir Humphrey Davey Safety Lamp to see the original cause of his antipathy and later his almost smug claims that Liverpool Merchants would finance the London-.Birmingham line since Londoners couldn't). If London can return Egyptian artefacts to their

9 original site then possibly The Rocket could be returned here if we can show we will value it. This might allow our mate George to stop spinning in his grave.

10 Previous interest in the site

Liverpool's Lost Railway Heritage" was a report commissioned by the Council 4 years ago. (https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man- scw:123553&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF) . It shows that the council was interested in the site then but I am not aware that anything has been done since and none of the stakeholders mentioned now seem aware of any movement on the subject.

In 1980 the 150th anniversary of the opening was marked by the opening of Manchester's Museum and in the previous year Rainhill celebrated the anniversary of the trials. It is ironic that the city that greeted the first arrival of the Rocket with a hail of rotten fruit should have benefitted so much from its related tourism whilst Liverpool, the home of the Rocket, has just 3 plaques -one outside Stevenson's house and the others near the entrance to Crown St Park. It is forgivable that we missed this opportunity only if you remember the riots which gripped this area of the city in 1980. It is not forgivable that we continue to miss the opportunity when it is well established that Liverpool's future lies in tourism and the famous first ever passenger station is now in a peaceful haven -a landscaped park adjacent to university residential accommodation and predominantly occupied by students.

In 1930 there was a week long Pageant in Liverpool to celebrate the Centenary of the opening of the line and the "Lion" locomotive was involved after renovation following its use as a static engine on the docks. The urgency for Action Now

The following dates could be seen as opportunities to promote what could be a permanent world class tourist attraction. Each is the 200th Anniversary of the original event described and the dates are well within the 15 year duration of the Liverpool Local Plan:

 2nd October 2022 the Public notice declaring the intention to build the line  29th October 2024 the Company's first prospectus outlining how shares could be bought  1st June 2025 the failure of the first Parliamentary Bill  5th May 2026 Royal Assent for the successful Parliamentary Bill  6th October 2029 Rainhill will attract thousands of tourists to the 200th anniversary of the Trials.  15 September 2030 The Opening of the line. Manchester will attract well over a million visitors at the celebrations for the opening of the line and will doubtless have paintings of our sites on display and a replica of our Rocket.  (Every 15th of September from now and for the foreseeable future)

Television coverage, documentaries and news programmes around these dates will abound and will all ask the question why hasn't Liverpool taken advantage of this fantastic heritage but by then it will be too late.

11 The duration of the Local Plan for the development of the city will cover all of these dates and preparations must begin now. The decisions of 1980 over the 150th Anniversary celebrations can be excused by the riots, the excruciating difficulties Liverpool faced at the time and the war of attrition between Margaret Thatcher and Dereck Hatton. Even so out of all that came the Albert Dock. I believe the Edge Hill setting could provide another high quality tourist attraction which would supplement existing attractions within the city and provide an activity quite different from the Liverpool One shopping experience. For example a couple arriving in Liverpool could split up for a few hours to allow one to shop and the other to visit the Crown St museum park. As a hotellier I greet many male guests who would relish such an alternative to a few hours shopping for clothes.

View over the wall in Chatsworth Drive

12 What we Need to do Now

Acquisition

It is ironic that Liverpool Town Council's objections in 1826 could provide for the way ahead. In order to overcome the resistance of the council the traders included in the contract to buy the land a provision which stated that ownership would revert to the council should the tunnels ever become disused..... Currently the Wapping Tunnel to the Docks and the Stevenson Tunnel to Crown St (both from Edge Hill Cutting) are disused and 2/3rds of the Edge Hill Cutting has been fenced off and lies disused. The section that is used is declared to be as a "head shunt" which I understand is a dated strategy to move a locomotive from one end of a train to the other at the termination of a line. Most terminals do not have them so why Edge Hill? Is this not the opportunity of the millennium to depict Liverpool's pivotal role in the industrial revolution when it provided the innovative solution that rocked the world and continues to do so until this day?

I would hope that if the rail owners were approached by the City Council they may wish to assist in developing the site or pass ownership to the council. It is an unfortunate fact that the Railway companies have presided over the decline of this site to its present state of neglect but it must be understood that they have an inbuilt objective to profit and survive in a competitive world as a railway company. They are not in a position to devote time energy and finance to a museum. It is time for a change. The council have an inbuilt objective to ensure the success of the city and as such have a strong interest in utilising our heritage to achieve success.

A steering group

Once the site has been ear-marked for a museum park of some sort then work can commence on turning it into reality. The project needs to be owned by an interested party who can apply for grants and steer its progress toward completion and a group or person should be devoted to this role. Many decisions will need to be made based on what funding is available at any given time and what emerges in terms of possibilities as time progresses. The site has already been surveyed by industrial archeologists and their opinions would need to be sought and taken into consideration. Other interested parties like the National Railway Museum and the Railway Heritage Association need to be consulted.

The Immediate Objectives

The complex could be used in a variety of ways but initial work should be aimed at securing the site to complete an arena within the Cutting and accessed from Crown St Park via a tunnel. This could be achieved quite simply either in incremental stages or in one fell swoop.

 Ideally reconstruction of the Moorish arch would provide security and complete the arena with a set of gates to permit access from the railway network allowing visiting engines for temporary exhibitions. If the arch is not rebuilt then some boundary wall will need to be constructed at the east end to complete the arena and provide security. This could be a transitional state.  The cutting and its boiler rooms and workshops should be renovated as funds become avilable. The out-door area should at least be grassed to provide a neat and pleasant environment for the

13 exhibitions and the sides of the cutting should be tidied at the very least with consideration given to rebuilding some of the block-work and steps.  One or both of the 2 short tunnels to Crown Street park should be immediately opened and renovated as an access gateway to the arena. Ideally, Stevenson's Tunnel as the oldest railway tunnel in the world and a name to die for would in itself be a huge attraction. To reinstate it would require some repairs and the re-landscaping of its now covered entrance from Crown St Park. Security must be maintained but the very nature of tunnels must make this task relatively easy.  The other tunnel could provide a transitional alternative until work on Stevenson's tunnel is complete. It is in working order and is shorter and it already has a fence surrounding its entrance in Crown St Park.  Crown Street Station could ultimately be re-built either as a simplified version of the original possibly within the fenced area as a transitional option or as a replica of the original adjacent to the entrance to Stevenson's tunnel.  The 1-mile long Wapping tunnel could be renovated and opened at the dock end to provide a secondary access route to the arena from the tourist-dense Dock complex perhaps by horse and buggy along rails. There would then be no fumes in the tunnel and it would generate an atmosphere consistent with the road transport of the time. This tunnel was the one opened to the public in 1829 as a tourist attraction prior to the opening of the line and was even then incredibly successful. London's recent ventures into this type of attraction would pale into insignificance.

A Museum based in the Edge Hill Cutting and or the associated tunnels and openings could show the depth of heritage of the site even without the Moorish Arch once the site was securely enclosed. It could host regular exhibitions of the many facets of this world changing innovation and tell the fascinating story of this 1830 journey into the future. There are too many possibilities to list here but this "canyon" contains many niches and caves cut for various purposes but which could house various exhibits and "experiences".

Each year the Anniversary of the opening 15 September should be set aside as "Stevensons' Day" day and special events arranged each year to celebrate the contribution of these 2 Likely Lads to the success of Liverpool.

One contentious option would be to create a shopping experience within the arena consistent with the museum and specialising in ingenious toys and models for "persons of all ages" up to 90. The profile of the museum visitors is likely to be similar to that of potential customers of certain model manufacturers who may respond well to an approach for various reasons. The manufacturers include:

 Meccano who started up just yards from here and who appear proud of their Liverpool heritage  Hornby as above and they could produce anniversary models of the Rocket to sell here  Lego with their experience of Legoland  Model Aeroplane and Boat manufacturers/retailers who could provide displays  Remote control cars manufacturers/retailers agin who could provide displays on site  Robotic toy manufacturers/retailers similarly  Liverpool and Everton FC - well why not?

14  Railway companies (who ALL evolved from the LMRC) like Baltimore-Ohio whose first locomotives were built by Stevenson after the success of the Rainhill trials  Local retailers who could suddenly benefit directly from tourism

The arena provided by the Edge Hill Cutting could be a tremendous draw for people wanting to learn some real history, understand some engineering/scientific principles, and to spend a day choosing a birthday present from a select choice of relevant specialist shops. As part of the rental agreement the participating companies could be required to lay on exhibitions and help finance the development of the site - perhaps with the re-creation of the Moorish Arch as part of the security of the site and to complete the arena. Funding

What I am proposing is not just a Trainspotter's Paradise although I guess this could be really successful on it's own given the vast heritage on tap. It is a museum-park within the Edge Hill Cutting accessed from Crown St Park either via the Stevenson Tunnel or the Coal Depot Tunnel to celebrate the greatest technical, cultural, political, social, industrial, and financial change that has ever taken place on this earth outside of warfare. As such it must attract heritage funding from many different sources like the Railway Heritage Association and Lottery Funding.

The first goal must be to seek World Heritage status for the sites. But before this can be done we must show some respect for these long-neglected sites ourselves and further clean up and renovate. An important step would be to open up the Stevenson Tunnel by simply re-landscaping Crown St Park, repairing the tunnel and creating some features within the park to commemorate this site of such world wide importance. Another plaque will not suffice. A simple re-built Crown St station would be a next target with guided tours and voluntary contributions to help finance further development.

Possible funding from companies wishing to participate should also be explored but again this would be easier once the reality of the museum has become more assured.

I understand that the Lord Derby of the period has no direct descendants and that his estate has passed to a distant relative. It is possible that the current Lord Derby would wish to make amends for his predecessor's vociferous objections to this emancipating phenomenon. Similar desires could be satisfied for the descendants of other prominent objectors who might wish to lay foundation stones for the new Moorish Arch.

None of these outlandish proposals come anywhere near to the one proposed in 1822. There is no real technical difficulty (a bricklayer could complete the security in a week or two) and the finances are not that difficult (JCB hire isn't expensive). The benefits could be enormous. If you need a project manager I'm willing to start the week after next. The Benefits for Liverpool

The following experiences are relevant

 The National Railway Museum in York attracts 400 000 visitors each year  The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester attracts 800 000

15  Legoland is run by Merlin Entertainments in the UK.The Californian,[10] Danish, and German[11] parks all receive approximately 1.4 million visitors per year. The British park received approximately 1.65 million visitors in 2007, making it the 15th most visited park in Europe.  Miniatur World in Hamburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniatur_Wunderland. built by 2 men attracts over 3 million visitors

It is difficult to say how many jobs would be created by each option without more idea of the level of interest from the council. However, in addition to the on-site jobs the effect of these number of visitors on Liverpool in general would be enormous. The Hotel, restaurant, and entertainment industries would obviously benefit and probably many more jobs would be created to cater for visitor's needs than on site.

The museum could also provide a high quality inspirational educational resource to schools both within the city and outside the city. The role model of George Stevenson was much celebrated during the Victorian period as a self educated self made man and these qualities are still ones we would all like to see our children emulate. If the project was taken to its ultimate limit then the scene created would be extremely dramatic, particularly within the cutting. This could provide a very accurate, desirable, and unique film set suitable for many films e.g. involving the European Emigration to the USA. The majority of American Immigrants travelled to Liverpool by train via Edge Hill and it must have involved many emotional scenes. The set would enhance our already fabled collection of buildings to offer film makers. The enclosed nature of the cutting would mean that the control of open air scenes could be very tight for filming purposes and would enable film makers to create complete authentic Victorian outdoor urban scenes. A film about the making of the first proper railway would sort Liverpool's future out altogether.

16 Appendix 1

All Relevant Extracts of world "firsts" from the Wikipedia Transport Timeline

 5000 BC - Wheels were developed in the Indus Valley Civilization  3500 BC – Wheeled carts are invented in Mesopotamia[  3100 BC – Horses are tamed and used for transport in Botai Egypt  2000 BC – Chariots built by Indo-Iranians  1801 – Richard Trevithick ran a full-sized steam 'road locomotive' on the road in Camborne, Cornwall, England  1804 – Richard Trevithick built a prototype steam-powered railway locomotive for colliery Pen- y-Darren Wales  1812 - First commercially successful self propelled engine on Land was Mathew Murray's Salamanca on Middleton-Leeds Railway using toothed wheels and rail  1812 - Timothy Hackworth's "Puffing Billy" ran on smooth Cast Iron Rails at Wylam Colliery near Newcastle  1814 – George Stephenson built his first practical steam-powered railway locomotive "Blutcher" at Killingworth Colliery.  1822 - Stevenson built a locomotive and designed the railway for Hetton Colliery which is first railway not to use any horse-traction but it did have several rope hauled sections.  1822 - First Meeting of Liverpool Manchester Railway Company Permanent Committee.  1825 Stevenson's Locomotion runs on Stockton Darlington railway which opens as first Public railway and uses horses and self propelled steam engines and stationary engines with ropes along a single track. No stations and no timetables as anyone could hire the track to use their own vehicle on it.  1826 - Bill passed for Liverpool Manchester railway at second attempt and George Stevenson commences work on 35 mile twin track line permitting simultaneous travel in both directions between the 2 towns. Means of traction not specified to reduce opposition.  1828 - Stevenson's "Lancashire Witch" runs on Bolton Leigh line - a public goods line to connect Leeds Liverpool canal and Manchester Bury and Bolton canal. Railway has rope hauled and self propelled steam engines and single track.  1829 - Rainhill Trials to find best self propelled engine for Liverpool Manchester line are won by Robert Stevenson's Rocket proving there is no need for horse traction or static engines on the main line. Rocket becomes basic formula for all future steam engines with boiler tubes, blast pipe, and the use of coal rather than coke.  1830 - Liverpool Manchester Railway opens. First public transport system without animal traction, first public line with no rope hauled sections for main journey, first twin track, first railway between 2 large towns, first timetabled trains, First Passenger stations, First train faster than a mail coach, first tunnels under streets, first proper modern railway which formed the template for all subsequent railways.

Please note how often Liverpool is mentioned. This was all because of its position in relation to the industrial revolution which all started in its Lancashire hinterland.

17