Friends of Williamson's Tunnels

.....News added on 30th November 2000.....

· HSE Inspection

In the autumn there was a formal inspection of our work on the tunnels at Paddington by the Health & Safety Executive and a Mines Inspector. The inspectors examined the site in detail, focusing on the access arrangements (our new steps) and the shoring up of the deep excavation at the rear of the bottom layer. They found that all was safe and within HSE tolerances and commended the installation of the steel steps and platform. This tallied with complimentary informal comments made previously by Liverpool City Council (the ground landlord of the area) on our arrangements both at Paddington and at the house on Mason Street.

· Employment

In line with the above, we recently engaged the services of Mr. Gary Bollington as a qualified Health & Safety advisor. As with all the activities of the Trustees and Committee of FoWT, this work is carried out on a voluntary basis. However, we were delighted to formally employ Mr Ian Scott in July on a paid basis as Site Supervisor at Paddington. Ian is an expert enthusiast on the tunnels and his availability on site throughout much of the week has been of great benefit to our activities.

· Heritage Weekend 2000
Each year, English Heritage and the Civic Trust coordinate a nationwide series of events whereby buildings normally inaccessible to the public are opened for a couple of days. We were delighted to offer tours of the tunnels as part of the 2000 event in September.
Demand far outstripped availability of places so our booking line was busy. Attendance was further complicated by the fuel crisis which was in full swing! but demand for places far outstripped supply and the two days were a great success. Visitors signed in (above) and were taken into the Paddington tunnels under the Williamson Student Village. This was followed by guided walks around Williamson's original land, showing the many old features, assisted by our chalk markings on the road to show the location of tunnels underneath. Finally, our guests watched a video we had prepared on the Williamson story. Since the Heritage weekend, FoWT members have been enjoying their own tours of the tunnels (see Members' News).

· Souterrains Conference
In September, FoWT took up an invitation to present a paper to the 3rd International Symposium on Souterrains, held at Starigrad Paklenica in Croatia. Ian Scott, Steve Moran and Chris Iles (picured with, left, Paul Sowan from Subterranea Brittannica) travelled east and, as well as taking the opportunity to explore some striking underground features of Croatia itself, delivered our presentation at this prestigious event. Delegates from other countries were intrigued by the Williamson story, in that other
presentations dealt with tunnels built for a functional purpose. At the close of proceedings, FoWT were invited to host the next International Symposium in Liverpool in 2002! Talks are already under way ...

· Community Award success
As part of its Community Investment Programme, financial services giant Royal & Sun Alliance offers Community Project Awards to organisations and ventures which will be of ultimate benefit to the community. We were delighted to receive an award and a cheque for £500 in the Autumn and wish to reiterate our gratitude to RSA for their generosity.

· Media Coverage

Media coverage of the tunnels and their situation continues to increase. Despite some items overlooking the difficulties the tunnels face, much good exposure has been given in recent months, including local items on Radio Merseyside and in the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post and features on FoWT's progress in trade journal Construction News. The Radio Merseyside item saw top Liverpool tour guide Steve Binns joining us in the Paddington tunnels (second from right in the photo). Further media features on FoWT and the tunnels are in preparation. One side effect we have noticed is increased traffic on this web site!

· Smithdown Lane / Stables site

Development of the new flats on the Grinfield Street / Smithdown Lane corner are complete. Latest understanding is that the properties have been leased to a Housing Association and that the dwellings are now for private letting, not students, and that some have been set aside for asylum seekers.
The remainder of this site, currently the Stable Yards, with the double and single tunnel entrances in one corner, was the subject of a planning application by the same developer for the construction of further houses. This would still mean demolition of parts of the historic stables and, to many minds, would make it extremely difficult to rescue the other tunnels hidden underneath the site.
Objections to the plan were lodged by individuals and some city councillors on the grounds that that not all the tunnels on the site were saved and that the loss of the buildings would be a waste of the City’s heritage. Despite this, the application was passed. Therefore, work will begin on the site in due course, including the renovation and partial excavation of the two tunnels in the corner.

· Crime in the tunnels!

Top crime author Martin Edwards released his latest novel recently. 'First Cut is the Deepest' is the new book in the popular Harry Devlin detective series and is set in Liverpool. Towards the denouement, a man needs to disappear. Where does he hide? You guessed it - in Williamson's tunnels. It's a very good read and Martin has worked hard on the detail of the tunnels. In his acknowledgements at the end of the book, he pays tribute to our web site for providing background information. We're grateful for the compliment.