Save Shipley Glen!

[Sarah]

I don't know how many of you have been following the Shipley Glen story on the News page, but it's inspirational and dramatic stuff.

Local campaigners asked for Nick's help last week after they received a tip off that the Aerial Glide was about to be demolished; amazingly the ride was listed within 24 hours of the report being submitted to English Heritage. This is really encouraging, as it demonstrates English Heritage's commitment to our amusement park heritage.

I now read that the owner of the site has attempted to demolish the ride regardless of its listed status. I hope Bradford Council throw the book at him.

Nick has been helping Save Shipley Glen campaigners to build a campaign web site. Once it has a facility to join up to the campaign I will be doing so pronto. I think we all should!

Sarah

[Ian]

Nick has been helping Save Shipley Glen campaigners to build a campaign web site. Once it has a facility to join up to the campaign I will be doing so pronto. I think we all should!

Sarah[/quote]


I think we all should as we know what its like when something that you care about is endangered. I've never been to Shipley Glen, but I will help that campaign out however I can!!

Ian

[Nick]

Thankfully there has been no further damage to the ride since the police and council officials stopped the demolition.

I really don't think the owner (who says he accidentally put the listed building notice in a recycling bin without openeing it!) realises the seriousness of what he has done.

Any alteration or demolition of a listed building without listed building consent, however minor, is a criminal offence (Section 9 of the Listed Buildings Act). If convicted there is a prison sentence of up to six months and/or a fine of up to £20,000.

Separate to that, the council can (and hopefully will) issue a 'listed building preservation notice' (Section 38 of the Act), requiring the structure to be returned to its original condition within a set time period. Failure to reinstate the structure within the time period is also a criminal offence, coming with its own fine, calculated daily for every day the building is not returned to its original state (Section 43 of the Act, I believe - I am writing this off the top of my head!)

Since the attempted demolition I have had several emails and telephone calls from English Heritage, who are extremely concerned about this action, and are closely monitoring the situation. We are all now waiting to see what action the Council will take, for it is the Council that has to act, not English Heritage. Unfortunately, many councils are not as enthusiastic about their own heritage as English Heritage is. We shall have to wait and see.

One thing is for sure that locals are watching Bradford Council very closely at this moment in time...

Nick

[porterm]

I have to say I didn't realise this attraction was also on the critical list. I will fully support the campaign as soon as the website launches.

I seem to remember reading a report (on the European Coaster Club site, I believe) that someone had recently been to visit the ride. Apparently it is not very well signposted from the main roads in the area. Also, I believe there is a maximum weight restriction of around 10 stones. Can anyone else confirm this? - I was always under that weight for years but seem to be creeping up a bit these days (unless my scales are defective!) - if they're right though it may sadly count me out on partaking in this attraction.

Just when we thought it was becoming safe to relax somewhat in the off-season another ugly plan raises its head.

Martin

PS If the ride is operational next season it sounds like a good place to visit. Have never been to this area before.

[AndrewEdwards]

Yes there is a weight limit for the ride, but still worth a visit especially if you have small children. The ride itself in some small way could be classed as the worlds oldest roller coaster (if in deed it was built in 1900) in that it has a car that is pulled up a lift hill then using gravity completes the circuit. In my opinion it is certainly the worlds oldest Suspended coaster and whatever your view is so unique that it must be protected. The park is best reached using the Shipley Glen Tramway, Britains oldest cable tramway and another special piece of our heritage. I was at Shipley Glen a couple of times this year and speaking to the locals and volunteers they had feared that this could be the last year for the Pleasure Grounds. The Tramway and Amusement area need each other to survive so again we need to thank Nick for his quick action in trying to prevent the money men taking away generations of fun in exchange for a quick profit.

http://www.rollercoastermayhem.com

[Wilko]

I was planning to visit a few weekend before this all happened but started a job and couldn't go. Shame really I would really liked to have tried the ride. Hopefully it will open next year so I will take a visit then.

John Wilkes

[coastercrazydan]

I was going to go there this year but other park events took my time off to go all I got to do is hope it will be open next year now.

[Gary]

I think it's amazing that by visiting sites like Joyland you can be transported to and informed about places that you wouldn't have thought even existed!..That's certainly the case with me and I hope to visit Shipley Glen next year and hopefully have a ride on the Aerial Glide.

Through Joyland I managed to interview Mike Short on http://www.the-magic-eye.com

For those of you interested, The (USA) National Amusement Park Historical Association have e mailed regarding the listing of The Aerial Glide to say:

Thank you for the information. We will be including it in our next issue of
NAPHA NewsFLASH.

Jim Futrell
NAPHA