In a shock announcement Douglas Borough Council have revealed that the Douglas Horse Tramway is to close with immediate effect due to “the increased financial burden on Douglas ratepayers”. The project to merge the horse stables and tramway depot into one building seems to have been the final straw which caused the decision with Councillors deciding it was not a viable idea.
A special meeting of the Council was held on Thursday 21st January where the decision was made with “regret” (with obviously no consideration taken towards the history and tourism). There had been no indication in the lead up to this meeting that this decision was on the way coming hot on the heels of the sold out Santa Specials in December and with preparations underway to celebrate the 140th anniversary in August.
The key factors in the final decision were the continued year on year deficit – currently running at £263,000 – coupled with the associated loan charge equating to an annual impact on the rates of over £420,000. In addition the decision made by the Council last year to merge the Tramway Terrace stables site with the tramway hub at the Strathallan site has added to the financial burden. This scheme was expected to cost £2.9 million (with the Council having to finance the scheme by a thirty year loan which would cost £4.8 million over its life) and members of the Executive and Regeneration and Community Committees decided in December not to proceed with the project as it was “not financially viable” and there were still “a number of unresolved issues”.
Cllr David Christian MBE JP, Leader of Douglas Borough Council, justified the Council’s decision like this: “The Council must always act in the best interests of the ratepayers of Douglas. To continue operating the horse tram service would place an unacceptable level of burden on the ratepayer, not only for the coming financial year, but also for the foreseeable future. The Council recognises the important contribution the service has made to the Island’s vintage transport heritage but Douglas, as with all local authorities, is having to make difficult decisions to fund, protect and develop key services. The Council has a duty to face and adapt to stark financial realities, to maintain a firm grip on its finances and deliver value for money to the ratepayer. Were the Council to continue operating the horse tram service it would be failing in that duty.”
Cllr John Skinner, Regeneration and Community Chairman, added: “I should like to take this opportunity to thank the tramway staff for their hard work and long-standing commitment to the service, also to the many local residents and visitors who have supported the horse tram service over the years. The Council recognises the affection in which the horse tram service is held, both in the island and around the world, but these are difficult times that demand rigorous examination of expenditure, current and future. Against this background the horse tram service is, regrettably, no longer sustainable.”
With the decision now made the Council will look to relocate the horses who have maintained the service to good homes whilst the trams themselves will be offered to transport museums either on the Isle of Man or in the UK. Unfortunately with the number of trams still at Strathallan and the number of transport museums likely to be interested (bearing in mind the gauge of the Douglas Horse Tramway) the stark reality of this is that some of the trams may end up being scrapped. The stables and depot will also be offered for sale.
With the news coming as a shock to supporters of the Douglas Horse Tramway and tram enthusiasts in general there has been little reaction so far but Manx National Heritage have released a statement expressing their disappointment. The statement reads: “Manx National Heritage is extremely disappointed at today’s announcement from Douglas Corporation regarding the closure of the Isle of Man’s iconic Horse Trams. The announcement is contrary to reassurances Manx National Heritage has previously received from Douglas Corporation. The Isle of Man’s historic transport network is an important part of the Isle of Man’s Visitor Economy and part of our unique offering as a visitor destination. It is disappointing that Douglas Corporation are not seeing the opportunities presented by the Isle of Man’s new Destination Management Plan developed in partnership with public and private sectors, especially given that in recent years, leisure tourism here has seen double digit growth. In particular major UK travel companies such as Great Rail Journeys have started to bring substantial numbers of groups to the Island. Indeed we are preparing to welcome organised parties to the Island early in March this year, lengthening the season and helping to sustain local businesses in Douglas. From a conservation perspective the best way to preserve historic rolling stock is to maintain it in operation in a sustainable way rather than transferring the costs of upkeep of a static object to a museum or group of volunteers. These historic vehicles were designed to move. Manx National Heritage fully recognises that difficult financial conditions require bold and innovative solutions. We remain keen to work with Douglas Corporation and other key stakeholders to find a solution for the benefit of the Island and all those supported by our visitor economy”.
A petition has also been set-up against the decision and this can be signed by visiting http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-for-the-retention-of-the-douglas-bay-horse-tramway.html.
Sadly as things stand at the moment Douglas Borough Council have put an end to 139 years of history seemingly without investigating ways to save money (perhaps they should have taken a trip over the Irish Sea to Blackpool to see how volunteers can help cut costs in operating a heritage tram service?) In 2016 the only chance you will have to ride on a horse tram in the British Isles looks set to be on special operating days at the Crich Tramway Village.
* As more reaction is received we will update British Trams Online.
Incredibly sad news and potentially the end of an absolutely unique tramway. Lets hope some last minute plan to retain the service can be found.
Only this morning I was reading a piece on another website bemoaning the continued destruction of the islands unique heritage transport infrastructure and the ‘chipping away’ of the things that make the island such a mecca for the transport minded traveler.
Too sad to say much more I am afraid!
Whilst I can fully understand this move in austerity times I would be surprised if the Manx Parliament allow this to happen. Yes it is a shadow of its former self and we could all see ways of improving it. Yes it does need money spending on it but this is 2016, the age of Heritage – it is a 140 year old Tramway still running! It should not be allowed to close. By all means scale down but close without even celebrating its anniversary? Now is there only mean who thinks this might be a move by Douglas Council to force isel of man railways to take it on? Lets hope they do!
Once again councillors are making decisions based solely on money without considering the heritage and history aspect of the tramway. As well no recognition of the jobs that are lost!
As Oscar Wilde said:
“He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”
Whilst I’m obviously shocked and saddened by this development, I don’t actually think it will close permanently. It wouldn’t rule out then closing it until the promenade is redeveloped, but closing it for good? No, I think it would present too much of a logistics headache, and I don’t actually think the Manx parliament would let them! Me thinks it’s a clever move to force someone else (probably IoMR) in to taking it off the council’s hands. Nevertheless, it is 2016, and in the 21st Century we show respect for our cultural heritage. As the only street horse tramway in the British Isles, it should receive more protection than it gets.
I’m reserving my judgement until the situation has developed a little more, but I wouldn’t panic. I think there is more chance of the Peel line reopening than the horse tramway closing for good.
If the tram service has to close, let’s hope that the tracks are not taken out. A future heritage horse tram service during summer weekends should be possible ! Without the heritage transport systems there is no reason for me visiting the beautyfull IOM again.
The tracks are coming out as part of the redevelopment work.
What sad news regarding the end of the horse cars we read today. What next, the Steam Railway, MER the roundabout at Silverdale? As Manx exiles we return to the homeland every year and love the sound of the clip clop of the horses hooves as we ride along the prom. On our next visit in July we were looking forward to taking our 8 year old grand daughter from London On her first horse tram ride. She will be very disappointed if they have gone! We just fail to understand how Manxmen can come to such a decision. The Manx who do not leave the Island do not seem to value what uniquely is there and do not understand that you do not know what you have got until it has gone. I hope that a solution will be found to save this wonderful asset for another 140 years. James Faragher( student conductor 1957,58)
Needless to say I was shocked beyond belief at this devastating and dire announcement.
I was unable to think clearly or strategically about what the future could hold but wanted to at least register my views on the day the announcement had been made, so we have sent the following e-mail to the Leader of the Council, the Mayor of Douglas and the Isle of Man Tourism Department:
‘My wife and I are stunned by the shock announcement of the immediate closure of the Douglas horse tramway. We have been regular visitors to the island in the 4 years since we married, averaging 3 times a year, and the horse tramway has been one of our prime attractions. In fact it happens to be ourselves photographed on the front of the tram in the picture on the IOM Today website which announced the closure. If this goes ahead, it will be a nail in the island’s coffin for us as a place to visit. I had already requested leave from work to attend the special events that had been announced for the tramway’s 140th anniversary season this year.
‘The horse tramway is in our opinion a unique attraction on a world class scale and should have been granted something equivalent to world heritage status. It made Douglas stand out from all other seaside resorts globally and is the thing that visitors from all over the world would remember Douglas for.
‘We accept that sometimes change is inevitable, but could we please, please, PLEASE, request that at the very least, the horse tramway, its horses and the dedicated staff are given the opportunity of the glorious send off they deserve. if the news of such an event went world wide it would probably bring a considerable number of visitors to the island and its hotels and businesses, for this is the end of the authentic Victorian horse tramway era in the whole world.’
‘As my own job and that of my colleagues is currently under threat, I have every sympathy with the tramway staff who have always been so welcoming to us, and I hope that such a special event will be possible as this shock decision will reverberate in heritage circles across the world.’
Trying to get my head round the awful news, I realise that the Council cannot totally be blamed if I draw comparisons with the situation affecting my own employment and that of my colleagues, who also work for local government (Lancashire County Council). A great many jobs are under threat in services like libraries and museums that people take for granted, due to government cutbacks, and the County Council is completely withdrawing all subsidies for bus services county wide from April, having for many years been a leader in keeping a comprehensive local public transport network going. This has previously been reported on on this website as it also affects the Blackpool tramway north of the Blackpool boundary at Anchorsholme and is perceived as posing a medium term threat to the survival of the whole route. We are losing five historic county museums at the same time. So this illustrates the kind of pressure that local councils are under. I think I have read that the UK government has made something like a 25% cut in its funding to the Isle of Man as a crown dependency so cuts are inevitable.
It would be good to think that there might be ways forward to continue operating the horse tramway but the deadline of having the whole operation closed down by the start of the financial year in April gives very little room for manoeuvre. It seems almost as if the will is not there, and yet I have not detected a widespread public wish to see the tramway closed. By comparison, Lancashire County Council have publicly encouraged organisations to come forward who might be able to keep the museums open that they can no longer afford to run.
There is also the complication with the horse tramway that its future in its present location was uncertain anyway and major infrastructure investment would be needed within a few months, not to mention the need to resolve the longstanding issues of where it would actually be located and how it would integrate with other users of the promenade space. This makes it harder to easily see a clear way forward. Having said that, a lot of money has been wasted on this project already if the tramway is to be abandoned. If the will was there, I am sure something could be achieved in partnership with appropriate players. If anyone has ideas, now is the time….
In terms of where things are at the moment, what I find particularly distressing is the total cancellation of the scheduled 2016 season which would have been possible on the present infrastructure, especially when one considers the exciting events that were promised for the 140th anniversary. At the very least, I find the lack of any kind of farewell event or acknowledgement of the end of the horse tramway very hard to come to terms with. I feel very sorry for the staff who were noticeably downhearted due to the uncertainties of the 2014 season but were more upbeat last year due to the assurance, now proved hollow by the politicians, that the tramway was going to be running in its present form one more year.
The sheer uniqueness of the horse tramway brings with it other issues too. Not only are the trams and depot themselves unique, but the stables, for example, are the last operational and probably the last intact example of horse tramway stables in the UK – I was allowed to have a good look at them during my Christmas visit. On the mainland this alone might make them worthy of listed status, but I don’t know how such things work on the Isle of Man.
My final reflection, regarding some of the comments above, is that I am not convinced that this present age is as heritage conscious as some people think. We have recently attended the last running day on the main running lines at the world’s oldest railway passenger station – Liverpool Road, Manchester which is part of the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry – which was safeguarded in perpetuity as recently as the 1980s. I believe the museum is also losing its air and space site, itself in an historic building. At the railway closure day, a former director of the museum and the National Railway Museum described the closure as ‘state sponsored vandalism that would not be allowed in any other country’. I don’t know if that is the case but I do feel we are in a dangerous cocktail of government cutbacks alongside, for example, an increasing preponderance of prosperous developers that could easily produce more shocks like this, as heritage, although valuable, is not seen as a big moneyspinner (too often, the opposite) and I fear it does not always command the respect it once did amid the new pressures of economy and space.
I suggest we need to be vigilant and to support heritage wherever possible, and for what it’s worth, I will show any support I can to finding a way of keeping the historic Douglas horse tramway operating.
The present Conservative government should be ashamed at what they have done to this country. The country cannot take much more of their austerity doctrine, it’s gone far enough. Having said that, the loss of the MOSI’s air and space gallery is nowhere near as significant as the loss of the DHT- MOSI don’t own the planes anyway, and the building is owned by the council (and listed). If it is closed, the planes will likely return to Duxford, Cosford and Hendon and the building will be restored for another use. I do wonder how they will get the Shackleton out though…
What has the UK Government got to do with closing the Douglas Horse Tramway?
The IoM is not part of the UK so Government action here does not affect the Island directly.
The UK government funds the IoM as a crown dependency. It is not totally financially independent.
Let me try to explain a bit more about the IOM financial situation as I understand it.
Although the island is nominally independent (as a ‘Crown Dependency’) it works closely with the Government in Westminster and has many long-standing agreements with them over issues such as defence, NHS services and so on.
One of the long-standing agreements was over the issue of VAT. All VAT levied on goods and services sold in the island is collected by authorities here and then remitted to the UK Government, who are supposed to pay an agreed portion back to the island. This means that for quite some time VAT revenues have formed a large part of the income of the Isle of Man Government.
A few years ago, when the pre-2010 Labour Government messed up the British economy, they suddenly turned round to the Isle of Man and, despite the existence of the agreement, told the Manx Government that they wouldn’t be paying back to the island as much VAT as they were expecting. This effectively wiped out one-third of the island’s income at a stroke, and has caused all of the problems we have here now, including the ‘unaffordability’ of the horse tramway.
Comments from people who think that the UK Government has any connection with this just show constitutional ignorance. The Isle of Man is a crown dependency with the UK Government responsible for defence and foreign affairs.
On the day after this news broke, Manx National Heritage is inviting applications for projects to “help attract visitors and protect heritage” following a legacy of £1m to the Manx nation. A lack of joined-up thinking here.
Time for Douglas Council to submit an application then. Which they would have done already if cost was the only factor in their decision. The fact is that they have wanted rid of the horse tramway for years and the talk of relocating the teack to the footpath and combining the stables with the tram depot is a convenient way to add to the costs of the tramway so as to make it unaffordable. How does moving the stables to the depot cost them £5 million, especially when selling the current premises would no doubt offset a considerable amount of the cost? This is Manx politics at its best where heritage is concerned, deciding on an end (literally) and then creating a means to get to it.
I am too shocked and disgusted to write more
A very short sighted idea by the bean counters.
The trouble is, it’s very expensive to visit the IOM and stay, so they need a draw to bring tourists there.
By getting rid of this attraction they merely open the gates to allow others fall by the wayside.
After all, i understand it’s a beautiful island, and i’d love to visit the trams and railway one day, but the boy hood dream has always been the horse drawn tram.
So i can save my travel money now, and give it to North Wales railways and local tramways instead.
Your loss IOM. Shame on you.
Sorry, David, but I don’t know where this idea that it is ‘very expensive’ to visit the Isle of Man comes from. You can travel on the ferry as a foot passenger for about £18 each way, or there are good value ‘Sail & Rail’ tickets available that will get you by train to Liverpool or Heysham and onto the ferry as well. When you get here you can buy a seven-day ‘Go Explore’ card that gives you unlimited travel on the buses and heritage railways for about £47. And I can find you a superb, award-winning bed & breakfast that I’ve used myself in the past for about £35 a night. That isn’t expensive in this day and age.
So forget about the ‘very expensive’ bit – it’s tosh. Come and see us and you won’t regret it.
I’m sorry but it is expensive. Whilst you can get cheap ferry tickets many people prefer not to spend 4 hours on a boat! Therefore £120 ish pounds for a flight. You can get well into Europe for that! You forget theta you ghave to get to ferries and planes and park too! It all adds up.
From a hard- nosed commercial perspective, it is hard to argue with the decision, but from a cultural and heritage perspective it is one of the worst decisions ever…
We have to remember though that the current status of all the Manx tramways is not that of a ‘heritage operation’ in the way that the mainland museum lines are – they are run as a commercial operation nominally forming part of the local public transport provision and the reality is it has been on borrowed time for decades.
The unique problem of the Horse tramway is that unlike an electric vehicle, you can’t just switch it off and shut up shop for the winter; the horses still need care and feeding and that costs significant amounts at a time when there is zero income.
Given the financial constraints of local and national government throughout the British Isles, the most realistic option for any sort of future is with outside support, either through volunteer input or significant external fundraising – neither of which have been particularly welcomed by IOM railways (in respect to the steam railway) in the past so I’m not sure that a takeover by them is a good option.
The only alternative that leaves is full independence under a volunteer / charitable organisation, but is there a. the manpower and b. the regulatory and governance expertise available to achieve that within the Island’s limited population?
Is it possible for residents of the IoM to have the tramway declared a heritage site as happened with the San Francisco cable cars?
I had hoped that the proposed relocation of the tramway to the seaward side of the Promenade would allow proposals made during the era that Sealink sailed to Douglas that the line should be dual use. This would allow the MER to reach the Sea Terminal with ample “paths” to permit the horse trams to function. I suspect the House of Keys will not allow the loss of this iconic line and the closure announcement is a piece of political pressure. I hope I’m right!
Is the proposed relocation of the tramway the cause of this drastic decision? The proposed move of promenade alignment is effectively the building of a new route. One need only look at the UK to see how grand designs for light rail have, so often, led to repeated denial of funding.
What’s bewildering is a tramway operating two horse trams per day for half a year can lose over £200k. Employee costs for 2014/5 were £211k. Total costs were £324k revenue £116k and a loss of £208k.
Naumburg in former GDR saved its electric tramway after years of uncertainty. Funds from Sachsen Anhalt state and crowd funding allowed the tramway to survive.
The petition stays at over 2600 signatures at this moment. I can immagine this number to rise. Could any form of crowd funding save this lovely tramway? This is a matter of international importance. Crowd funding could be organised to this level.
Perhaps this tramway could serve as a experimental site for battery powered trams and be sponsored by manufaturers of such systems. Modern can save old I think.
If the tramway cannot be saved in its present form, can the money be found to electrify the line and finally realise the dream of 1900 to run the MER through to the harbour end ? It would still be possible to run a heritage service of horse trams on special occasions. It seems to work quite well at Crich.
That would keep something to attract tourists as well as improving rail links to Ramsey. Once its gone that’s it.
Presumably they have decided that income to the island from tourists is so low that it is not worth the trouble of keeping the horse tramway. But should not the opportunity be taken to extend the electric trams to the centre of Douglas? (And I mean along the PROMENADE, not stuck away on the rain-swept and windy seashore side of that road!!) Well, people of Mann, “As ye sow so shall ye reap!!”
Is the decision by Douglas Corporation to close the horse tramway a ploy to get the I-O-M Government to step in to save the tramway. I may stand corrected but there is enough millionaires on the island who could put their hands in their bottomless pockets to shelve out a mere 200K to save this historical 140 years institution, what is next the MER and the steam railway?
This is a disgusting decision that the council have made, and the blame for it, in it’s entirety, must fully lay with them. Maybe central government has cut local council funding, but how the local budgets are worked out is down to the local councils themselves. How much are councilors paid on the IoM? I’d be willing to bet there’s still plenty of waste that could be cut from the council without needing to do something like closing this irreplacable part of our history.
This whole saga once again highlights a problem that is far bigger than the horse tramway though, showing for the second time within a decade how there seems to be absolutely no protection for historically significant transport systems. First we had the destruction of the Blackpool Tramway, which has seen many of it’s historic vehicles already lost or rapidly becoming beyond repair, not to mention the willful destruction of original Tramroad Company buildings during the so-called ‘upgrade’.
Now the Douglas horse trams look set to suffer the same fate that the Blackpool trams have. Yes a few vehicles may survive in museums. They may even eventually be able to operate in Douglas oh high days and holidays. But what will almost certainly be lost (as is the case in Blackpool) is the character and atmosphere of the tramway.
Away from transport, Sheffield City Council are currently engaged in ripping out historic victorian gas lamp-posts across the city, together with many other items of historic street furniture.
I’m growing more than a little tired of the roughshod attitude of local councils to our heritage assets and find it difficult to find a council anywhere which can be described in any way other than ‘less than useless!’
What I urge anyone to do who is interested in the preservation of any part of our historic environment is to get rid of these useless councilors by standing for election themselves.
I’m sorry but you lost me at the Blackpool tramway bit. How many trams were scrapped in Blackpool after the upgrade?
1.
Centenary car 646 is as far as I know the only tram to be scrapped as a direct result of the upgrade. Not a particularly historic car by any means, either. I used to oppose the upgrade too but after visiting and seeing what they have done, I’ve changed my mind. In fact, I would say that heritage trams are looked after better now than ever before.
You must know Franklyn’s form by now… Why let the facts get in the way of a ‘Blackpool Bashing’ opportunity!
Thing is, on this occasion I was agreeing with him up until the point he got on his usual tired ‘hobby horse’…
646 wasn’t scrapped as a direct result of the upgrade Nathan. It was scrapped because of the actions of the scumbags who trashed it and tried to set fire to it. It wasn’t the result of the new owner for leaving it in an exposed position either. Its demise was entirely the fault of the scumbags who couldn’t keep their criminal hands off.
Fully agree with your experience of the new tramway. I think the heritage trams look far better now than they did in their later years in service. And those members of the public who prefer to travel on modern trams or are not able to manage the steep steps can do so. (Almost) everyone’s a winner.
The Blackpool Tramway wasn’t destroyed it was upgraded. Two vehicles were lost, one bofore and one after. There are a collection of historically significant vehicles both in Blackpool and other museums. Every effort was made to home the redundant vehicles. Any dumped outside now cannot be blamed on Blackpool Transport or Council! None of the lost buildings were historically significant to the world or they would have been listed! Would you have preferred the Tramway to close? It would have done without the upgrade.
You cannot compare Douglas and Blackpool. Douglas has become primarily a tourist line, Blackpool is public transport. And the massive passenger numbers prove it was right to do. You can still ride on Heritage Trams through the year! Like this weekend for example when more Trams of different types will be out than would have been previously on a January Sunday!
Yes Douglas needs to be saved in some form. For what its worth I don’t think that the suggestions for line retention such as electrification are particularly helpful as we want it saving not replacing! At least no ones told Parry!!
Think really big. Electrification of the promenade line not just to the Sea Terminal but right through to the railway station and up to the entrance gateway on Douglas Head.
But how much to build, how much to run and who’ll pay? The notion of getting the wealthiest residents to pay sounds doable if it’s sold right, maybe as a sort of well-heeled crowd-funding project via a foundation of some kind, if of course the council are agreeable to such extensions being built.
Then too, why not extend the MER tracks at the Ramsey end down to the ocean rather than stay stuck at the back-street terminus it’s been using for over a century?
If that works, how about then getting the steam railway line to Peel once more?
Sorry but none of it will happen. Will it?
Yet the Government don’t do this with much more terrible tramway/railway/bus services
What is really annoying about this is that as late as 12th January it had been announced that the trams would be running so like an set of idiots we booked for 4 people to come and visit IOM on the anniversary weekend to celebrate.
It is unfortunately non refundable which is frustrating as I would have preferred now to not spend my money with a place run by such an imbecilic council who tell blatant lies
How can they quantify the losses as I am sure that most visitors are on passes and this makes it impossible I imagine to produce anything more than a guess?
I sympathise totally with you. Myself and a few friends were coming over for the 140th but will now not bother. i wonder how many people will be doing the same and how much lost revenue to hotels, ferries etc that will be.
If the tramway is now closed permanently, now is the time for the trams and track to be bought up and transported to another place where a horse tramway would be valued as a tourist attraction and not considered to be an expensive embarrassment as it seems the Manx authorities have decided.
Where? Who has the millions required to do it?
The owners will now have to dispose of everything; either send it all for scrap, which will be a heritage disaster, or try to find people, companies or institutions that can take the unwanted trams etc. off their hands. What a shame nobody got the unique tramway listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then they could not have done this.
A recent tv programme on tax havens stated that over 30,000 companies have registered their business in the IoM. An annual levy of £10 on each company would more than cover the operating loss.
So Douglas joins the short list of places that closed their tramways without a ‘last car’ or any ceremony, like Coventry (destroyed in the blitz) and Sankt Polten (suddenly closed). Perhaps it was easier at Douglas to get rid of it by stealth when nobody was looking.
Seems as though there is a slim thread of hope appearing according to this article on Manx Radio http://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/possible-reprieve-for-horse-trams/
I think that some MHKs and others are waking up to the fact that the closure may well end up costing the island more than it saves in lost tourism etc. Tour companies could cancel block bookings if they have advertised a horse tram ride as part of the package.
Let’s hope these silly blinkered councillors get some education quickly. They need to drop the macho we’ll-sort-it-out-ourselves attitude and start consulting on the future of what is an internationally valued treasure. They point out the low revenue but what do they expect from a tramway that runs on a half hourly frequency for 4 months out of 12.