Transport Secretary urged to intervene over Queensbury Tunnel row

The leader of Bradford Council has requested that Mr Grant Shapps urgently intervene into what she believes are “unauthorised actions” by Highways England at the disused railway tunnel dating from the 19th century. 
Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, inset,  believes the Department for Transport (Dft) may have breached planning rules, and sent one of its engineers to Queensbury Tunnel to make an emergency assessment of its condition.
The Dft brought in emergency planning powers to infill one of the air shafts at Queensbury Tunnel because of the increasingly deteriorating condition of the structure, which was constructed in the 1870s as part of the railway from Halifax to Keighley. 
In the letter to Mr Shapps, Councillor Hinchcliffe asks for an immediate halt to the work and for an independent third party evaluation to assess its condition and use of emergency powers. 
She has also requested that Highways England withdraw a planning application to seal other shafts at the tunnel.
Coun Hinchcliffe said: “The actions of Highways England, which have happened without warning, have put the whole project in jeopardy. We need them to halt all the works and withdraw the planning application to seal the tunnel.”