Didcot Railway Centre: 50 year Lease.

I see from their website that a new 50 year lease for the Didcot site was signed on 6th October last. Does anyone happen to know if they were able to negotiate and include the additional land, I think it was some redundant sidings adjacent to the main site, that they were hoping to take over if NR no longer required them?

As an aside I see from their website that Didcot station is being redeveloped, and some surviving brick built buildings have been donated to the GWS and are being dismantled for future rebuilding on the Didcot site.

I have checked but cannot find that we have discussed this topic here recently. As ever I stand corrected if someone knows otherwise!

 

Yes - the sidings area is where the railmotor shed has been built (once it became clear they were going to get the lease). I think the plan is to extend the branch line round to the entrance through that area so that you can effectively take circular rides (albeit more up one side and down the other). There are other things to go in such as a footbridge in that area. I've a vague feeling I've seen a plan somewhere but it might be in a GWS Echo rather than online.

 

I believe that the redundant sidings have already been taken over and are utilised by the GWS - in fact I think the Railmotor shed is on that area. I do not know if said sidings were part of the new lease. Unless there are some other sidings I didn't know about?

The buildings demolished were the ones you walk past on your right on your way from the car park to the station, once you're over the bridge.

I think the 50-year lease is good news. Hopefully in 50 years time Crossrail will be all over (of course, the way government works in this country I bet Ladbroke's would do good odds on it still dragging on!) and then the space at Didcot won't be needed for that particular white elephant and the opportunity to sell might arise.

Whilst we're on the subject of Didcot; are there any plans to instal a wheelchair lift at the Subway steps anytime soon? Considering that much of the site is wheelchair friendly it seems a shame to have the only public entrance so disabled-unfriendly (not the GWS's fault of course). Alternatively (heeheehee) - how about shuttles with the newly mainline certified Railmotor from Parkway into the railway centre?!

 

Thanks both for your replies and info. Appreciated.

 

Disabled access is planned now they have the lease - more likely to be a ramped access than a lift, partly because this would also aid getting items which are relatively small but relatively heavy onto the site without either training them in or having to carry them up the steps!

 

That surprises me - I'd've thought a lift could be far more easily fitted into the very limited space available? Makes sense though.

 

The space is deceptive - there's a fair bit of room just inside the GWS site which doesn't currently have any track etc on, so provided they can design it to enable DB and NR staff to still gain access to the "live" railway as they do at present via the steps, then it should be possible. A lift would require a building anyway to house it and the winding gear plus its an ongoing maintenance overhead. That said I'm not sure its got beyond the stage of now looking into how to do it so it may yet end up being a lift.

 

Plans for the center sidings re-development have been around for a number of years, as have plans for a subway ramp.
With the lease in place, I believe grants have been applied for. But just like negociating the lease, they take time to go through.

 

Thanks for the info. I was envisaging one of those outdoor single wheelchair lifts, semi-open to the elements. I believe these are operated on the scissors principle, being pushed upward rather than pulled. Not sure how far down you'd have to dig to fit the gubbins in though, or whether such a thing could deal with the height involved. Anyway, there are better heads than me on the case! And as Pannier Man says, it all takes time.

 

Have looked at a battery powered climber as used at other attractions but decided against. Can't fix to steps as they belong to Network Rail. Should grant be for ramp or lift? Lifts require maintenance.

 

Ramp, not only for wheel chair users, but easier to handle deliveries and heavy/long/awkward parts/objects on barrows/sack trucks. Minimal on-going costs.
A lift will require maintenance, statutory inspections etc, with all the implied costs, plus will have weight/size limitations.