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.
Contents
Prospective repairs
Extensive repairs are needed to secure the Viaduct.
2016 HLF bid rejected
On 6 September 2016 the HLF 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 HLF bid
As of 2018[update] the Trust has another bid under consideration seeking £1,018,100 from the HLF for a large part of the £1.26 million cost. It has plans to raise additional funds from other sources. In June 2017 the Trust secured almost £72,000 of HLF financial backing to develop its bid, and the HLF would make a final decision in September 2018.[2] If successful in securing HLF support, the SVR would intend to complete this urgent project in two stages by 2020.[3]
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
- ↑ SVR Facebook 18 June 2017
- ↑ 'Falling Sands Viaduct', Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust website (Retrieved 27 April 2017)