The historic Summer Hill stables, home to the trammers of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway since 1877, have been put up for sale by Douglas Borough Council. Although not an unexpected move it is still disappointing that such an historic building is considered suitable for selling as a development opportunity. Possibly the most shocking aspect of the sale is that the property will be available with vacant possession in early 2017 – hopefully this means that Isle of Man Railways have alternative arrangements already in hand to home the horses for their next two confirmed seasons of operation.
The sale is being conducted by Chapman Chartered Surveyors who say that it is “prime development opportunity in picturesque sea front location” and that the “buildings may have some potential for conversion and refurbishment”. The Council are not only selling the stables but also three terraced houses and a large paved area with the whole site being approximately 0.4 acres in size. No estimated price is mentioned in the advert.
For their part the Council have said it is in taxpayers best interests to sell the stables as a significant amount of work is needed to the buildings in the near future. Whatever the reasons for the sale it seems that the Council are wanting to wash their hands of the tramway as quickly as possible and bring a complete end to Corporation interest in the historic tramway.
It is expected that from 2017 the horses will be housed at Strathallan – it is understood that the depot building has been transferred into the ownership of the Department of Infrastructure – although no details of how the depot can and will be changed to house the trammers have been announced. If the horses are to live at the depot you would imagine a significant amount of attention will be needed to the building which is known to not be in the best condition currently. Only time will tell where the horses will be living from 2017 but as and when there are updates we will bring them to you on British Trams Online.
Meanwhile this weekend will see the previously announced tram sale with six surplus trams available for pre-registered bidders. Details of the results of this sale will be brought to you as and when they are available.
If the council wants to be rid of anything to do with horse trams (getting rid of an ‘old fashioned’ image of the Isle of Man for a go-ahead modern island at the cutting edge of the digital technological revolution), perhaps, at least it could upgrade the tramway as a state-of-the-art light rail line operated by battery-powered vehicles.
It’s simply selling off the Island’s Heritage silverware for short term gain. The Horse Tramway is part of the island’s heritage, something that these days seems to be valued so poorly.
It’s all been political posturing on Douglas Council’s behalf in that they had a pretty good idea that the closure and cost/running of the tramway would be met with great opposition with the ultimate aim of passing both on to the Manx Government/Manx Heritage.
I don’t have too many issues with the sale of the adjacent apartments but I’d have thought the stables themselves were of enough historical value to be preserved, sadly it appears to be not so.
Now how many apartments can you get on the site of Rushen Abbey?
How backward looking the Isle of Man is, totally out of touch with the rest of the planet when it comes to the value of heritage and trams in particular. They are sitting on a unique asset. You would think they would have learned from Blackpool`s mistakes! The turnaround at Blackpool is a lesson to everybody.
Comments above echo my words a few days ago.
Whilst it is right these days to expect rates to give value for money, not at a cost of loosing a item which is linked in the tourist industry.
Take out Laxey wheel convert it into the Laxey eye see what I mean!.
The former Southport pier tram a item ideal for a quick upgrade still retaining heritage.
Demolish regret, Rebuild invest, Visitors money, only as good as your last visit. All key statements for the future.
Dave
I really don’t want to comment on the politics of the Isle of Man – that would be a very dark and murky alley to walk down. Suffice to say that history, tradition and heritage come a very distant second to cold hard cash. If a retailer put in a bid for Tynwald Hill, a site that represents a thousand years of Manx history, by next year it would be car park and a glass fronted superstore.
That unfortunately is the reality of the situation. I say that with a heavy heart as someone with a deep love of the island, but who has seen all that makes the island special diluted bit by bit over the past few decades.
I am the Secretary of the Manx Electric Railway Society.
The position is as follows.
The committee of our Society concluded last week, (based upon reliable intelligence) that we should do all we could to prevent the loss of at least one car. We decided to try to save the saloon using money which we had set aside for our annual advertising on the horse trams but which had been rejected by the new operators of the tramway, the Government Department the Department of Infrastructure who do not like us because we alone fought “vociferously” (to quote the Minister Mr Gawne) to stop them ripping up the tracks between the War Memorial and the sea Terminal for good. That was the planning application which followed Mr Gawne taking over the line.
We were outbid on the Saloon but managed to buy No 39, so if our information as to the purchaser of 37 is correct (see below)at least two cars will stay in the Island.
The following are the bids and prices wherewith Douglas Borough Council was paid its pieces of silver for this hastily arranged auction which appears to have been organised in order to get the deed done after Tynwald had been Dissolved and before the next election.
Mr Gawne, the Minister is seeking re-election;
Lot 1 (28) MERS were outbid, I presume by Welshpool) Starting bid 1800 sold £2800
Lot 2 (33) starting bid £750 sold for £1200. Buyer unknown.
Lot 3 (34) starting bid £800 sold for £1300. Buyer unknown.
Lot 4 (37) starting bid £800 sold for £1100. Buyer Howard Quayle MHK.
Lot 5 (39) staring bid £1800 sold for £1800. (MERS)
Lot 6 (40) starting bid £1000 sold for £1000. Buyer unknown.
There is in our opinion an outside chance, no more than a possibility, that Manx National Heritage may intervene to prevent the export of one or more cars to England or elsewhere.
The sole efforts made by Douglas Corporation to ensure lip service was paid to conservation was an “approved bidder” scheme and what amounted to an un-enforceable letter of intent.
Shortly before the auction it became clear that the stables had been put on the market for sale as development land. It has already been pointed out on your superb website that the timetable is very hasty indeed.
This is the official reason why the six cars are being sold off; it is to clear space in the depot for stables.
However since both re- development of stables and development of new stables within the Strathallan Depot will require planning permission within the promenades conservation area (which MERS and others will oppose), in the murky world of the Isle of Man there may be another agenda.
So far as I am aware the Strathallan depot is unsuitable for conversion and it may be that someone in the Department of Infrastructure in fact plans an extension of the former Summerland Development site for their own reasons. This would require a deal with the owners of the Terminus Tavern (formerly Lord Derby’s hunting lodge), probably resulting in demolition.
For the avoidance of doubt the Department of Infrastructure has plainly co-ordinated its efforts with Douglas Borough Council with regard to the take-over.
It would be somewhat odd that someone in Douglas Borough Council decided without agreement with the Department to retain to six trams un-used in recent years and to auction them swiftly. Of course one can imagine that the Department would not want to take over what are presently deemed to be surplus, un-wanted stock, but the key is the stables. The Council keeps the stables (and their value) and the Department fulfils whatever hidden agenda it has.
Only time will tell, but as is always the case here confrontation in the political sense may yet save the day. Tynwald will be a very different place in the Autumn which is why this deed has been done when it has.
Those who love the horse tramway may be assured MERS will do all we can to protect and save as much of the tramway as we can. Now that we have been shut out from making a contribution towards the horse tramway by way of advertising we will do what we can to restore the tram we have bought, but have little hope that it will be permitted to run again in normal operation whatever we do.
On behalf of the Society we only ask that your readership bear in mind that it is more than Douglas Borough Council involved in this unhappy state of affairs and do all they can to bring pressure to bear to stop the disposal by the Council of the stables and the domino effect of what will happen next at Strahallan…
Interesting that one of rhe cars has been bought by an MHK. Does that mean that the tramway has at least one genuine supporter in parliament?
My wife and I have just come back from a lovely holiday on the Isle of Man, and I want to congratulate the supporters of the Horse-drawn Trams, as it really is a unique, wonderful and priceless part of the Island. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of them, as it would certainly devalue the Island’s reputation in the eyes of tourists. The Island’s fantastic transport network is one of its greatest assets, and is one of the main reasons why visitors would want to return there. May I make two further suggestions for discussion:
1. Make advertising in the Manx and mainland press a priority over the next crucial two years, to encourage a very large number of supporters to join the ‘Friends of the Douglas Horse Drawn Trams’, as an emergency appeal to save this unique service may be needed in the near future. Some years ago, I was one of the leaders of a campaign to save an historic British Railways diesel railcar for the nation. After a hard-fought fight, we were successful, but a large part of this success was down to national advertising.
2. Would it be possible to physically dismantle some of the historic stables and rebuild them on land adjacent to the Strathallan shed? A number of heritage railways have done this with old signalboxes and station buildings, and Beamish has got it down to a fine art. The old stables are incredible working survivors which deserve to be preserved in some way. Also, such a move would enable the trams to work even more efficiently on a combined site, without compromising the original Strathallan shed.
It would surely be a win-win solution.