SkegnessVideo.com

News story date 5th January 2007

The old, Victorian train station at Skegness is threated with demolition after Network Rail announced that it is looking into selling the whole site for redevelopment.
The redevelopment would include new passenger facilities with retail and commercial buildings.
A conclusive report is due at the end of March.
The idea has caused much controversy in Skegness.
Network Rail has agreed to consider the possibility of retaining some of the Victorian features after an appeal by the Skegness Civic Society.

The chairman of the society, Coun Steve Kirk said that preserving the railway station’s old buildings, including the old station master’s house.

” ‘The Lodge’, has been a long standing aim of the Skegness Civic Society. The society hopes that if demolition were to be decided upon, the possibility of the relics being moved to the local Church Farm Museum should be considered.
“It is very important that they should be saved. Once they are gone we will not be able to bring them back”, Coun Kirk emphasized. “We need a full debate on the issue to see what the majority of the townspeople want!”

The chairman of the Skegness Hoteliers Association, Mr Tony Tye, expressed his concern that if the developers were faced with having to work around relics, they would abandon the project, wrecking a great opportunity for Skegness. Mr Tye said that redevelopment would much improve the face that Skegness gives to its visitors.

Coun John Byford, seeing both sides of the argument, advocated moving the old buildings brick by brick to Church Farm Museum.

Save the Stationmaster’s House…our last chance to save the relic

The Skegness Forum has launched a campaign to stop the demolition of the Victorian Stationmaster’s house located at Skegness train station.

Skegness Civic Society

There was a petition-signing campaign by the Skegness Civic Society to save the railway station’s stationmaster’s house on Saturday 17th February 2007.

The petition collected over 1500 signatures.

You can sign the online petition here

What the Webmaster says:
The face that Skegness shows to its visitors is very important as the town depends on the tourist trade. It’s important that visitors to the town should be met with a pleasing, inviting and comfortable environment. And don’t forget that when their holiday ends, it will be their last memory of Skegness!
The present train station is run-down and drab. It’s obvious something has to be done!
But what?
All in all, the tourists probably won’t really care about preserving the Victorian features. They are tired by their journey, they’ll probably be glad of a quick cuppa, a quick freshen up in pleasant surroundings, then they’ll want to be off to their lodgings or explore the town. Visitors waiting for their trains home will probable want the same facilities, with somewhere warm and comfortable to wait.

But what right have we, this present generation, to destroy for ever historical relics, dating back to 1873, which future generations may want to keep?
What a relief that when St Matthew’s Church was built in Skegness in 1879 the generation of the day didn’t say “we may as well demolish the 16th century St Clement’s church now, it doesn’t look too good!”.
The present generation would have be sorely robbed of the true foundation stone of Skegness! How would we feel now if St Clement’s had been ripped down?

If the outcome of Network Rail’s report recommends the demolition of the relics, then Coun Byford’s movement for the removal of the relics to the local heritage museum is the best option!
Angela Gooch

We carried out a VideoVox Pop Skegness Train Station Demolition Proposal at the railway station over the weekend asking YOU what you think.
Paul Gooch is the interviewer in the video.

Here’s what you said:

Margaret Chapman has lived in Skegness for a long time. Margaret said that the train station definately needs something doing with it.
She hopes that the old buildings will be retained.
“I like old buildings!, she told us.

Don’t compromise safety!

Ziemo is from Poland but lives and works in Skegness. Ziemo said it’s a good thing to have investments in Skegness. Interviewer Paul Gooch asked if the existing featues of historical interest should be preserved.
Ziemo said that the train station doesn’t look safe as it is. He was in favour of preserving the Victorian features so long as safety and the working of the station wasn’t compromised.

William Darbyshire lives in Skegness and travels by train regularly. He agrees that the station needs renovating as it’s an eye sore at present. ” The first thing people see when they come into the town is the train station”, he said. William is in favour of incorporating the Victorian features into a new railway station, “so long as it doesn’t cost the taxpayer a lot of money”.

Let’s have the old Skegness! Keep it!

Mr and Mrs Marsden live in Skegness. Paul Gooch asked whether they were in favour of the station being modernised. ” Yes, look at the state of it”, Mr Marsden replied.
Mrs Marsden said she’d rather the station be renovated to how it was originally, keeping its old character.
“It’s a bit of old Skegness”, she said.
“It’s getting that there’s none of the old Skegness left, it’s all modern shops and buildings. Let’s have the old Skegness. Keep it!”.

Brendan Paddinson lives in Spilsby and travels by train regularly to and from university. Brendan says that the present station is grubby and not very welcoming for Skegness.
He agrees that it needs a face lift but said that it would be nice to keep the old buildings alongside the modern ones.

Skegness train station is a shambles!

Mr Wheatley is a regular visitor to Skegness and has been coming here on holiday for the last six years. He lives in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
Mr Wheatley says the train station needs to be modernised as quickly as possible to make it better for people coming to Skegness.
“It’s a shambles! It’s disgraceful!”, he proclaimed.
He was in favour of including some of the original features in the redevelopment project.

Video Vox Pop Skegness Train Station Demolition Proposal

• Seacroft Train Station to close down
• Old Pumping Station Skegness
• Train Horror 21 Sheep Mowed Down
• St Clements College Art Skegness Train Station
• Drummond Road Bus Station
• Collage Art Students Paint Murals at Skegness Train Station
• Jolly Fisherman Steam Train
• Seacroft Train Station becomes Pet Crematorium
• Skegness Development
• Demolition of the Moat House Skegness