Bridgnorth Cliff Railway owner could quit over wall repair costs

Bridgnorth Cliff Railway is one of the country's oldest and steepest inland funicular railways

The owner of a cliff railway has said he will walk away if he is asked to pay for repairs to a nearby wall.

Dr Malvern Tipping, who has run the railway in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, for 12 years, said the wall is the responsibility of the town council and he could not afford the likely costs.

The town council has not yet said who will pay for the work, but repairs started on Monday.

The railway been closed since December 2022 as engineers studied the wall.

Bridgnorth Cliff Railway is one of the country's oldest and steepest inland funicular railways.

It has operated for more than 100 years and transports people 34m (111ft) between Bridgnorth's High Town and Low Town.

Fourteen of the attraction's 16 staff have been made temporarily redundant while the railway was shut.

"My family has sunk very close on to £1m into this railway over the last 12 years and hasn't taken a penny out in terms of wages," Dr Tipping said.

He said he ran it "for the good of the local public", but felt the repair of the nearby retaining wall was not the railway's responsibility because it was "the council's own land which the wall retains".

He also said he would refuse to make a contribution to the town council for the repair work, adding: "It's either their wall, or it isn't their wall."

The problem, he believes, has been caused by ivy and could have been going on for decades.

Although he is still waiting for the council to say who is financially responsible, he said the issue was in the hands of solicitors, but he hoped "common sense would prevail".

Bridgnorth Town Council said it did not wish to comment at this stage.