The graceful Irlam Station House, built in 1894, stands next to the railway track that services 177,000 journeys a year along the Manchester to Liverpool railway line. The House stood derelict for years, while Irlam Station itself was run down with no facilities for travellers, until Friends of Irlam Station decided to try and do something about it.
"We worked hard" says Ann Rogerson, one of its founder members "We got cctv, a ticket machine, bins, electronic signage and a tannoy…That was the work the Friends did but that's now got hijacked…"
Pat Lever, another founder member of the Friends of Irlam Station takes up the story…
"The last meeting of the Friends was about four years ago when all this started to develop" she recalls "We just seemed to get dumped, nobody has contacted us. Once Salford Council started to get more involved all the meetings stopped, and we've had no input since."
Despite this, the Friends of Irlam Station name is all over the latest planning application for the Station that Salford Council's planning panel will be discussing tomorrow. Council documents state "The proposed refurbishment of Irlam Station is part of a wider regeneration strategy for Irlam Station involving a number of partners and stakeholders including Hamilton Davies Trust, Transport for Greater Manchester, Northern Rail, Network Rail, Friends of Irlam Station."
The residents who were members of Friends of Irlam Station are now totally against how the plans have developed... "When we first went to the meetings they said there was going to be a little café, a waiting room with toilets and a ticket office and we were quite happy with that but now they've changed the rules" says Mrs Finch.
The plans being submitted tomorrow don't include a ticket office, while, instead of a café, the Station House is being transformed into a "mixed use cafe comprising elements of retail shop (class A1) cafe/restaurant (class A3), and drinking establishment (class A4) uses within the café". Or, what the residents describe as a `pub' with a function room open until 11pm. They've formed themselves into a new group Friends and Neighbours of Irlam Station, or FANIS, to try and expose the proposals and attitude.
"Originally the low cost plan was to bring the Station House back into service for rail users, with facilities for their comfort – a ticket office, a small café run by volunteers maybe and it was going to be a charitable venture but it's not turned out like that" says Ann "It's been hijacked by people looking for profit on the back of a group of residents and Friends of Irlam Station who wanted to look after the building."
Now the project has mushroomed to a cost of over £1million, with a residential apartment and offices as well as the `café' and function room. And the residents who worked on the original restoration scheme, and whose houses are yards away from the building, believe it's going to be a nightmare for them.
"It's too near the back of my house and the noise is going to be tremendous" explains Mrs Finch "I don't think it's the right place for a function room, a restaurant and a pub. They won't say it's a pub but it is…"
Her sentiments are underlined by Ann… "I live directly at the back of the Station, it's ten metres away from my back door and six feet above my garden. If this plan goes ahead it will be covered in extractor fans, coolers, brewery signs, spotlights…drunken nuisance, increased traffic, noise…
"We were told this venture was going to be a community project for the rail users, to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use public transport but that hasn't happened" she adds "There's going to be increased traffic deliveries, patrons' cars, taxis all along a ten metre gap at the back of the houses. And this isn't just about our own concerns, there'll be children coming out of the school on a single track road so there's a road safety issue here too."
And Shirley adds "It was going to be for rail travellers but now it's going to be for people specially coming up for a meal, and in summer it's going to be horrendous. The sound barrier they're building is not going to be any use when people are outside…
"….It was a charitable project; the Hamilton Davies Trust said `We're just a charitable trust that likes to put something back into the community'…but this is geared to profit and the car park that is supposed to be for travellers…well, they'll be lucky if they can get a park and ride place on the car park because people will be parking to eat and drink."
The plans for the Station House have been submitted by North Cheshire Developments, with financial support from the Hamilton Davies Trust (HDT) which is putting in £250,000, and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Neil McArthur, the founder of the Hamilton Davies Trust is also a director of North Cheshire Developments.
The Salford Star asked Hamilton Davies Trust whether any of the finance provided by the Trust towards the refurbishment of the Station House is going to pay for work by Cheshire North Developments, and for comments on the changes to the refurbishment. Neil McArthur issued the following statement…
"Irlam station is the third busiest in Salford with 240,000 people using it every year. Sadly, it is very run down despite the fact that many people commute to and from there. Unfortunately, there is no public money available for provincial station facilities beyond car parking, disabled access and cycle hubs. In addition, despite being approached, Network Rail (who sold off the buildings and the land in the 1980's) and Northern Rail have told us they will not invest in Irlam.
"Consequently, it fell to us to act locally. Hamilton Davies Trust is funding 25% of the project and Salford Council has adopted the station policy. However, it still meant that we had to find a commercial proposition for the building which needed £700,000 to bring it back to its former glory.
"North Cheshire Developments has offered the capital for a cafe bistro in order to pay for the refurbishment of the station. The proposal is for an upmarket bistro - not a pub - and will be the type of place where people will go for a bite to eat with the family. HDT is very sensitive to local opinion. The vast majority of people want and need the station improvements and the lack of public investment is disappointing. Had more public funding been available, a commercial licensed operation may not have been necessary.
"HDT is leading on regeneration for the whole of Irlam and Cadishead. Over the last 10 years, it has provided in excess of £4 million of support to the area. The station is part of these improvements which are raising aspirations and expectations of our communities and improving the area for visitors and people who work here. HDT is working in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester, Salford City Council and NCD Ltd on the plan which is costing £1.6 million. HDT does not engage in commercial activities but is able to support the public realm element of this project and has committed £250,000 of support.
"It is our aim and the aim of many people in the community who support us to enable Irlam and Cadishead to become the busy towns they once were, places where people want to live, work and visit. We are working tirelessly with a number of organisations to achieve that for the people of the area."
Unfortunately, some `people of the area', who helped instigate the Station plans now feel alienated, used and abused.
* Salford Council planning panel will be discussing the application tomorrow, 15th May at Salford Civic Centre, with the officers recommending approval.
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