Blackpool Council have revealed plans to be build a second depot at Starr Gate – this time to house the fleet of retained heritage trams once the Supertram upgrade is completed. The heritage depot would probably double as a museum but no funding is currently in place and with no timescale mentioned for the construction of this the current Rigby Road depot is likely to remain in use for a number of years.
A planning application has been submitted by the Council (to the Council – but different departments obviously!) for a museum/depot to be constructed directly next to the Supertram depot – which as reported a couple of weeks ago will be ready in time for 2012. It is currently anticipated that 22 “heritage” trams would be retained and housed in this museum which would have glazed walls and provide exhibition facilities along with storage and maintenance facilities.
Paul Grocott, Tramway Programme Manager at Blackpool Council, said: “The current phase of Blackpool's tram development concentrates on the future. But we also want to celebrate our wonderful heritage trams and provide a tourist attraction with these much loved trams running along the Blackpool Promenade section of track. These old trams will continue to be maintained and operate from Rigby Road but it is our aspiration in the future to add a tram heritage centre to the Squires Gate facility. This second phase will not happen for a number of years but the outline planning application records the council's intention to create a heritage facility so that the many enthusiasts can enjoy the whole story of the Blackpool tram from its beginnings in 1885 right up to the present day."
Philip Higgs, from the Lancastrian Transport Trust, added: “There is a great deal of interest in the Blackpool tramway and we have a lot of heritage here but at the moment there is nowhere to showcase it. It would be a fantastic venue and would help to make that area of Starr Gate into another visitor attraction. San Francisco has a cable car museum which is very popular while the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden attracts between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors a year so it shows how successful these kind of attractions can be."
Source: Various from Blackpool Gazette