Laz: Wapping Tunnel Must Be Rescued

LIVERPOOL politician Malcolm Kennedy and the city council’s cultural officer John Hinchcliffe ventured into the depths of one of the city’s hidden gems, and realised they may have struck gold.

“It was an amazing experience and the tunnel really is in good condition, about a mile and three quarters in length."

The two were among the last of an 800 strong army of subterranean explorers to journey through the disused and abandoned Wapping Tunnel, buried beneath the city streets.

And their verdict – the tunnel, built in 1830 as part of the world’s first railway, linking Liverpool and Manchester by steam locomotive – could become the world’s first eco-tunnel.

Jaguar Land Rover, showing off their new Halewood build Evoque, have used  Wapping Tunnel as part of a rough-terrain test-drive route for world-wide journalists.

Both the new car and the city have scored major points from gobsmacked journos from every continent.

But will the brick-built tunnel now be resealed, to be lost for ever, or is there light at the end of the Wapping Tunnel?

For some years a small group of people, egged on mainly by me, have been promoting the concept of using the old tunnel as a green-link between Edge Hill and the waterfront.

It’s too good an opportunity to lose.

In the 1990s the council commissioned a report from AMEC to examine the potential for bringing back into use the Wapping tunnel and the much wider Waterloo Tunnel (which hits ground level near Costco in Great Howard Street).

The good news was both tunnels were in amazingly good nick. The Wapping Tunnel was, after all, the world’s first to be built underneath a major metropolis, so there were no early examples to follow.

AMEC concluded the wider Waterloo tunnel would be viable as a potential toll route between Edge Hill and the docks.

Wapping was narrower, and therefore not viable for road traffic.  Our idea, though, is more novel. Create a large car park at Edge Hill for a park and cycle/walk route.  The tunnel would just need levelling and have lighting. It could then be used as an underground walkway, cycle route, with rickshaws and battery-powered buggies.  It would ease congestion in the city centre, and as the tunnel emerges close to the Waterfront arena, it would be a new green mode of getting around.

John Hinchcliffe was impressed with the tunnel.

He told me: “It was an amazing experience and the tunnel really is in good condition, about a mile and three quarters in length. Towards the waterfront it branches into two tunnels, something I never realised. I have been trying to get to visit the tunnel for some time and this was the perfect opportunity with the Evoque promotion. The surface was a bit rough, and ideal for test driving the capabilities of the Evoque (it performed spectacularly and I’d really love one of these cars, says John).

“The tunnel has massive potential, and could be of international importance for us as a city. I hope this exercise will generate at least a discussion about the tunnel’s potential.”

Cllr Kennedy, Executive Member for Regeneration, was equally impressed with his underground experience.

He told me: “I think we should look to see if it can be used as an eco-route from Edge Hill to our amazing waterfront and ACC. Maybe there's a commercial operator who will see this as a good project. It is something we should explore.”