Warwickshire village fights to save its former station building from demolition
A PIECE of railway history is under threat of demolition, but it may not be the end of the line for the old station building in Salford Priors if villagers get their wish.
An application has been lodged with Stratford District Council to demolish Station House – a Victorian building in Station Road – by the owners, Bomford Turner.
The company says in its application that the building, which it describes as a former office, is redundant and in an unsafe condition. But villagers believe the firm would be destroying a piece of Salford Priors’ history which should be repaired and brought back into use.
The railway line was opened in the village in 1866 and services continued until 1962 with the official closure the following year.
More than 60 people have submitted comments to the district council in opposition to the demolition and a meeting of Salford Priors Parish Council was held on Tuesday (21st November) to discuss the village’s response.
Cllr Lauren Stanley (Con), who represents the area on the parish and district councils, told the Herald that the meeting had been well attended despite having to be held in Dunnington.
“The building has great sentimental value to people in this village and to lose it would be a travesty,” Cllr Stanley said.
Her husband’s own family history is entwined with the railway – his grandmother was able to use the train to get to work in Salford Priors where she met her future husband.
Cllr Stanley added the parish council had written to the district council to ask for a stop notice to prevent demolition and was awaiting the outcome.
It is believed the building was used by Bomford Turner, which itself has been in business since 1904, until about seven years ago, but was deemed not to be fit for purpose.
If Station House was saved, its future uses could be very limited as it is enclosed in the firm’s site where it manufactures agriculture landscaping machines.
One of the comments submitted to the district council suggests turning the building into a museum.
Karen Pattison, who lives in the village, wrote: “The building was part of the railway that ran through the parish and as such is part of the history of the village.
“It would be a great shame to see such an historic building demolished. It would be much better to see it put to good use by restoring the building and using it as a museum, not only for the railway but for the history of the factory, which has a long history as well.”
Others have pointed out the building could be incorporated into the ongoing Greenway project – plans to have a walking/cycling path between Evesham and Alcester, passing through Salford Priors.
Cllr Stanley added: “Bomford Turner is very supportive of the community and have been a great supporter of the Greenway scheme and do a lot for Salford Priors – a lot of their workers are from the parish. If [Station House] can be saved, I really hope Bomford would look to use it again for themselves or have a museum about Bomford or the village.”
A spokesperson for Bomford Turner said: “The Station House facility has not been utilised by Bomford Turner since the early 2000s. The organisation has been actively deliberating on the most appropriate course of action for the building, as it no longer serves a functional purpose for the business, and the cost of restoration would be economically impractical.
“Independent inspections conducted on-site have led professionals to abstain from entering the premises, deeming it unsafe. Consequently, the strategic decision has been made to proceed with the demolition of the structure, reducing it to slab level.
“In consideration of safety and security concerns inherent to our heavy engineering operations, the Bomford site remains inaccessible to the general public. Non-staff members are restricted from freely navigating the premises. Therefore, even if restoration were feasible, the building cannot be repurposed for community use due to these safety and security constraints.”
