The Duke of Northumberland “demanded” £600,000 a year as a condition of allowing the Northumberland Line rail project to pass through his land, it has been claimed.
The cash bid was branded “perverse” by lawyers acting for Northumberland County Council (NCC), who claimed the aristocrat was trying to profit from the taxpayer funded scheme.
But they now face a wait to find out whether their attempt to overhaul historic rules on the use of trains in the region, some more than 150 years old, will be successful.
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Currently, rail tracks which cross plots of land owned by Northumberland Estates, the company which manages the Duke’s land, operate under special “wayleave” rules.
“The wayleave leases contain rent provisions which are archaic and predicated on the original primary purpose of the railway, to serve coal mines,” Richard Turney, acting for NCC, told a public inquiry on the plans to restart passenger services between Ashington, Blyth and Newcastle.
“These provisions are completely antithetical to the operation of a railway, in fact, the provisions of the wayleave have proved highly contentious.
“This has culminated in the Duke of Northumberland twice threatening to terminate the wayleaves in a dispute over rent, including after this application was made, with an extraordinary demand for more than £600,000 in rent.
“Provisions which give an individual such a stranglehold over public resources are inappropriate.”
The Northumberland Line, formerly known as the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line, was shut to passenger services in the 1960s as part of the Beeching Cuts, although it remained in use for freight.
A government-appointed inspector spent most of November chairing hearings on the application for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) needed to authorise track works, as well as authorise land purchase powers at key points along the route and alter existing agreements on use of privately owned land.
In his closing statement to the inquiry, Turney claimed the proposed remedy was a “simple one” - to remove the existing wayleaves and provide an appropriate financial compensation to affected landowners.
Responding to the claims, Northumberland Estates insisted it “strongly refutes the allegations” and “wish wholeheartedly” that the scheme will be a success.
In a statement, it added: “We are and always have been fully supportive of [the Northumberland Line] project and have already agreed the access and land requirements for the rail line and new facilities with the county council.
“Unfortunately, we have a separate and a long running dispute with Network Rail, who are attempting to claim private property rights without appropriate consultation and compensation.
“This disagreement is with Network Rail alone, who have been intransigent for decades, and is the only element of dispute for us.”
When contacted, Network Rail declined to comment.
Following the end of the inquiry, the inspector’s report is due to be completed and passed to the government for consideration next year (2022).
