CAMPAIGNERS fighting to safeguard the historic Queensbury Tunnel for future generations have hit out at what they’ve described as “eye watering sums of public money” being spent to close it. 

The Victorian structure, which runs for 1.4 miles beneath the village has been at the centre of a longstanding battle over its future.

Campaigners, led by the Queensbury Tunnel Society (QTS), believe it should be restored for public use as part of a greenway connecting Bradford and Halifax. Highways England, which manages the tunnel for the Department for Transport is seeking to fill parts of it in over safety concerns.

It has previously said unless major work is carried out on the tunnel, the “level of safety risk to the community increases” and action needs to be taken.

In May last year, a planning application to infill parts of Queensbury Tunnel was submitted and has so far attracted more nearly 6,500 objections.

And in March, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps threw his weight behind the campaign to re-open it, telling the Telegraph & Argus: “Queensbury Tunnel, I’ve taken a specific personal interest in it.

"The plan and official advice was to fill it in but I have specifically prevented that from happening to work with local leaders and the Combined Authority to come up with a better solution.”

QTS said the cost of preparatory works for the closure of the tunnel has passed the £4 million mark and that this is more than seven times the original estimate

Campaigners said the contracted cost for abandonment was set at £3.56 million in 2018 - but this could now exceed £7 million and that consultants commissioned by Bradford Council costed the tunnel’s repair to accommodate the greenway at £6.9 million.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw said the £6.9 million figure will be higher as the tunnel has degraded further and the Council is continuing discussions about potential funding to progress the scheme.

He said: “The increasing costs shows how important it is to restore the tunnel as soon as is possible which will provide much greater value for money for the taxpayer.

"We support transforming the Queensbury tunnel into a leisure cycle facility as part of a wider cycleway connecting Bradford and Halifax city centres and see that now, more than ever before, people are looking at different and more active ways to travel."

It’s estimated that £23 million would deliver remediation of the tunnel itself, a high quality cycling and walking route through the tunnel, and connections to the routes into Bradford and Halifax centres.

Norah McWilliam, leader of QTS, said people have taken to foot and bike “in huge numbers” amid the pandemic, but more permanent change depends on safe off-road routes.

She said: “Queensbury Tunnel is a unique strategic connector providing a green alternative to a heavily congested, steep main road connecting two districts. We cannot afford to lose it.”

She added: “These are eye-watering sums of public money which Highways England continues to fritter away on abandonment despite Grant Shapps clearly stating that he has rejected the official advice to fill it in.”

A spokesperson for Highways England said it recognises the "strength of feeling" around the tunnel - but its remit is to maintain the tunnel and protect the safety of the public and contractors.

The spokesperson added: “Over time the condition of the 142 year old, 1.4 mile long tunnel continues to deteriorate and the cost associates with maintaining the structure are therefore affected. The Department for Transport is fully aware of the scope and nature of the current safety work.

“To assist discussions over a transfer of ownership, we assisted engineers from Bradford Council to inspect the interior of the tunnel last week.”