ELR: Bury-based railway to bid for £2m in government funding

The ELR, based in Bury town centre, is preparing to make an application to secure £2m of funding from the government’s Community Asset fund, to replace the roof of its Baron Street warehouse.

On Thursday, Conservative Party Chairman, Richard Holden MP, along with Bury North MP James Daly and Tottington councillor Luis McBrier, toured the Baron Street premises ahead of the ELR’s bid.

The Baron Street warehouse houses a stock of steam engines, locomotives and other trains for storage and repair. Built in 1856, the Grade II listed building is the oldest continuously working locomotive shed in the world.

The ELR's Baron Street locomotive shed is almost 170 years old (Image: Newsquest)

The ELR, which celebrates its 200th anniversary next year, says it must secure funding to replace the warehouse roof to ensure it can continue restoring and caring for vintage trains.

The ELR say it spent £100k on roof repairs last year in attempts to make the almost 170-year-old building rain and wind-proof.

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James Daly MP and Richard Holden MP tour the ELR locomotive shed with railway chairman Mike Kelly (Image: Newsquest)Mike Kelly, Chairman of the ELR, explained that it must secure the funding to ensure the building is fit for purpose and so the railway can be used and enjoyed for generations to come.

He said: “It needs a lot of renovation to make it secure, to make it wind and water tight and a good space for our staff and volunteers.

The Baron Street locomotive shed is in need of a new roof to ensure it is wind and rain proof (Image: Newsquest)“We’re pretty keen to get the roof completely renovated and we’re looking for around £2m from the community ownership fund, if we can secure that funding, hopefully within the next 12 to 18 months we can have the roof fully renovated to be wind and watertight, and a good safe environment.

“We’re one of hundreds of heritage railways across the UK and we’re the custodians of our industrial heritage, we’re passionate about heritage, we want to look after heritage and we want to pass it on to the next generation.”

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Richard Holden MP on a vintage locomotive at ELR in Bury (Image: Newsquest)The ELR employs hundreds of staff and works with 800 volunteers and is the second largest paid for attraction in the Greater Manchester region.

The Community Ownership Fund is a government run scheme launched in 2021 which aims to provide £150m of funding to community groups across the UK to renovate or buy community assets for the benefit of the community.

ELR restores and maintains working locomotives for use on the ELR tracks (Image: Newsquest)In January, 2022 the Bury FC Supporters Society which oversaw the acquisition of Gigg Lane submitted a successful bid for £1m from the Community Ownership Fund.

The ELR’s announcement came as Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden visited East Lancashire Railway and Jewish charity, The Fed on Thursday.

James Daly and Richard Holden on a tour of ELR, Bury (Image: Newsquest)

The Chairman is a minister and MP for North West Durham but is originally from Lancashire. He said it was important to preserve the town’s heritage but also recognise its role in today’s economy.

He said: “It’s really important that we celebrate the heritage but also engineering side. There’s twenty people involved in the engineering side and a lot of them are coming through apprenticeship routes as well.

James Daly MP and Tottington councillor Luis McBriar tour the ELR (Image: Newsquest)

“It’s a skill that’s being used now in a major tourist part of the local economy here.

“When you see things like [the ELR] and just how important they are not just for the people here but to the entire community, its vital that we do what we can to support this stuff. Yes, for the heritage value but also for jobs and the future as well.”

Bury North MP James Daly said the ELR is a fundamental part of not only Bury’s economy but also it’s identity.

He said: “ People who are from this town just associate themselves with this place, I just think it is something that’s linked into people’s DNA.

“When you’ve got something like that which is so important to people, you can link that into improving outcomes for people.

“I want to make sure this place is preserved as much as possible for people going forward.