Overrunning Metro works have left a neighbouring stables “on its knees”, its owner has complained.
Graeme Lamb was forced to vacate a large section of the fields where he grazed his horses last year, when contractors moved onto the site to carry out one of the biggest upgrade projects in the history of the Tyne and Wear Metro. Buckingham Group built their construction compound for the Metro Flow works, a £100m track-dualling scheme that required a three-month line closure, on the land in Wardley Lane, near Hebburn.
Mr Lamb previously rented that plot from South Tyneside Council for his neighbouring Quarry Park Stables, but has since found himself having to close the business because of the disruption. It had been hoped that the engineers would be off the site by the end of March, but Mr Lamb has now been told the remaining works on the Metro line and subsequent restoration of the land will take until July – after which he thinks it could be another two years before it is suitable for grazing again.
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The 61-year-old, who recently suffered a stroke which he blames on the stress of the last year, said it was “offensive” to think his long-standing business could recover immediately. He added: “I have no income from the stables now.
"Legally I don’t think there is anything I can do, but I think this is just wrong from a moral standpoint. I only have three horses here now, which are for me and my granddaughters.”
Mr Lamb had previously pleaded with Gateshead Council to let him use an adjacent field for grazing horses while the Metro work was happening, but was denied his request. He said: “The stables are shut now. You can’t run a stables if you have no grass. Before this started, I was full – we had 28 horses on site. The only reason I even have three now is that they are in the family.
“I have been here since 1987. If I can somehow get through the next few years, then the land will regenerate itself. But I don’t know if I can, with my health issues now I question it.”
Mr Lamb added: “The business is on its knees now. I just feel it is morally wrong – how can they destroy something like this and not give me anything?
"If you could wave a magic wand and get the land back ready to use tomorrow, then my customer base would come back. People say to me that they think I must be raking the money in with Nexus being here – but the truth is absolutely the opposite.”
While the Metro line to South Shields reopened in December after a three-month shutdown, overnight works to complete the Flow project have continued since.
Major projects director for Metro operator Nexus, Cathy Massarella, said: “The Metro Flow compound at Wardley will be undergoing a full programme of restoration as part of the environmental commitments which were made at the outset of the project. Our contractors, Buckingham Group Ltd, will be vacating the site in July and they will return it to its previous condition in line with the licensing agreement that was signed with the land owners South Tyneside Council and the Church Commissioners.
“All of the hard standing areas will be completely removed from the site and it will be reseeded. We are grateful for the support and patience of the local community during the Metro Flow project, a £104m programme of track dualling which involved our biggest ever line closure.
“We have worked hard to ensure that the amount of disruption and impact on our neighbours has been kept to an absolute minimum. The Metro line was re-opened to services in December, but the remainder of the track modernisation works have continued since then during night shifts when trains haven’t been running.
“This has been a vital project to renew ageing Metro track in South Tyneside, and the dualling of three key pinch points along the line will allow us to ultimately improve the reliability and frequency of Metro services in the future when we have introduced our new fleet of trains.”
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