News

ONE YEAR ON AND LIFT HAS STILL NOT MOVED

It is now exactly one year since the original Leas Lift step water carriage of 1890 was finally brought back home after spending the past 19 years at the Dover Transport Museum.

It was gently lifted over the booking hall by a giant crane and placed back onto the track watched by Robert Mouland who paid for its removal back to Folkestone.

Shepway District Council has agreed in principle to include the cost of its restoration in a heritage lottery bid as a reminder to future generations of Folkestone's Victorian transport.

But the lottery bid was not followed up by the council and the lift car is slowly rotting away at the base of the leas cliff.

Robert is still pressing the council to restore the car but without lottery cash the project seems doomed.

Shepway Director of Customer and Commercial Services, Jonathan Lund writing to Mr Mouland in April 2005 explained that as a result of difficult circumstances for the Council last year, the staff who would have been assigned to the project for lottery funding for the lift were assigned to other 'priority projects'.

The letter continues that the Council will be looking at whether it can press ahead with the funding application in this financial year.

Lord Radnor has written to Mr Mouland saying he personally is aware the water lift is a unique feature.

In 1966 eleven people were hurt when a step water carriage crashed . It was reported at the time to have been due to "an error of judgement o­n the part of the brakeman"