Chapel Milton's Victorian viaduct to undergo £7.5m upgrade

A landmark railway viaduct spanning a Derbyshire valley is set to undergo a 7.5m refurbishment.One of the 160-year-old twin viaducts at Chapel Milton, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, will be improved by Network Rail between now and the autumn.The Victorian structure allows two freight lines to transport about 25,000 tonnes of stone, cement and limestone a day across the Black Brook Valley from four Peak District quarries.David Hunter, from Network Rail, said it required a "modern touch to make sure freight trains can pass over it safely and efficiently for generations to come".
He added: "Each train takes about 76 wagons off the roads."The longevity of the viaduct is essential to the success of the economy and reducing the carbon footprint of the construction sector."
Preparatory work has already begun ahead of the main upgrade project, which will include repairing brickwork, installing handrails and guardrails to improve safety for workers and strengthening the structure.The Great Rocks line will close between 29 August and 7 September while the track is removed and replaced by contractor AmcoGiffen.The first line of the Chapel Milton Viaduct was opened in 1867 for trains from London St Pancras to and from Manchester, with the second fork towards Sheffield operational from 1890.It was built for passenger services, but is now solely used for freight.Residents are being invited to an information event between 16:00 and 19:00 BST on Wednesday at Chinley Chapel to find out more about the work and its impact on the community.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Reuters

25 minutes ago

• Reuters

Vatican-backed report seeks financial reform to avert decades of lost development

LONDON, June 20(Reuters) - A commission launched by the late Pope Francis has outlined financial reforms it says could help to avert decades of lost development in poor countries that face onerous repayments as global public debts reach record levels. The Jubilee Commission report is published ahead of the once-a-decade United Nations Financing for Development Conference that takes place in Seville, Spain, later in June. The environment for this jubilee-year campaign could hardly be more different from the last - 25 years ago - that yielded billions in historic debt forgiveness. Mariana Mazzucato, a University College London professor and member of the commission, said today's debt crisis was symptomatic of "a broken investment model". "The solution has to be public investment strategies that build productive capacity, domestic value added and sustainable fiscal space," she said. The report recommends measures including more debt suspension initiatives and steps to ensure money from institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, does not end up flowing from countries to private creditors. It also urges legal changes in London and New York - the jurisdictions for most bond contracts - to disincentivise creditors from refusing to take part during debt restructurings. After the debt forgiveness that followed the previous jubilee campaign, many developing countries, freed of their existing debt, turned to more expensive private lending, and China's lending ballooned. As a result, countries including Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana slid into default. A wave of sovereign defaults unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic - and exacerbated by the pressure of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a global rate-hiking cycle that boosted borrowing costs - largely crested last year. But the commission said dozens of countries are still squeezing spending to repay debt - with long-term implications for development and social cohesion. Average interest costs for developing countries as a share of tax revenues has almost doubled since 2014, while 3.3 billion people - and more than half of Africans - live in countries that spend more on debt service than health. The system, the commission's leaders said, traps countries in a cycle in which private lenders send cash when times are good - but quickly shut off access when global risk re-emerges. When lenders of last resort, such as the IMF, send money, the commission said that money often goes towards repaying creditors to avoid default. Martin Guzman, commission co-chair and Argentina's ex-Economy minister, said that created a problem for both creditors and debtors. "They don't come to the table with the right conditions for engaging timely and sustainable restructurings, and that aggravates the development crisis," he said.

The Independent

32 minutes ago

• The Independent

What's your credit score and how do you improve it?

Nowadays, contactless payment, Buy Now Pay Later and online loan approvals makes maintaining a good credit score even more difficult. Whether you're applying for a mortgage, switching utility providers or even signing up for a new mobile phone contract, your credit score plays a quiet but integral role in how easily, and affordably, you can access it. Yet, many people have no idea how it's calculated – or how to improve it. So we hear from consumer finance experts what you need to know about your credit score and how to boost it. A credit score explained and why it matters Many of us wouldn't dream of applying for a job without knowing what our CV says – yet when it comes to borrowing money, we often forget to check the financial CV that is our credit score. This three-digit number, used by lenders to judge our trustworthiness, can affect everything from mortgages to mobile phone contracts. 'A credit score is a personalised number that lenders use to assess how trustworthy you are when it comes to borrowing money,' explains TV's consumer finance expert and founder of Nous, Greg Marsh. 'A higher score means you're more likely to get approved for a loan, and offered better rates.' These scores are based on information held by three main credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – and each can possess slightly different records. Marsh says it's worth checking all three periodically. What affects your score Your score isn't arbitrary – it reflects your financial past. It includes whether you've paid bills or loans on time, how much of your credit limit you're using and the age of your accounts.'Avoid going over your credit limit or using too much credit, as this will incur additional fees and charges and potentially damage your credit score,' says Tesco Bank' s director of Help Me Borrow, Mamta Shanbhag. Opening too many credit cards in a short space of time, or maxing them out, can count against you.'Making multiple credit applications at once – such as several credit cards in a week – can negatively affect your score, as it signals to lenders that you may be in financial difficulty,' says Equifax UK' s chief strategy and innovation officer, Craig Tebbutt. How to improve it Improving your score is less about tricks and more about habits. 'It's crucial to pay your bills and loan repayments on time to show lenders you've been reliable in the past,' says Marsh, 'setting up Direct Debits is useful as you don't need to remember to make a payment.' Other positive steps include keeping credit card balances low, staying within any arranged overdraft and registering to vote at your current address – a surprisingly important detail for verifying identity. 'Being on the electoral register and having a positive track record with different types of credit can also boost your score,' says Tebbutt. 'The best way to improve your score is to always pay your bills on time, keep credit card balances low, and avoid applying for too much new credit in a short period of time.' Shanbhag recommends using 'eligibility calculators' before applying for credit. These tools show how likely you are to be accepted without affecting your score. 'If you apply for a credit card or loan in full and get rejected, or complete multiple applications, it could affect your credit score,' she warns. What tools to use It's important to remember that you don't have to pay to check your credit score. There are several free and paid-for tools to monitor and improve your score. ' ClearScore gives free access to your Equifax report, while Credit Karma offers your TransUnion file,' says Marsh. 'Experian Boost also lets you add regular payments – like council tax or Netflix – to your score to demonstrate reliability.' He also points to paid-for sites like Loqbox, which reports your savings habits to credit agencies, and specialist credit cards for those with low scores – although these can carry high interest rates if not paid off in full. It's a long game Credit scores don't change overnight. 'Generally, you'll start to see improvements within three to six months after making positive changes,' says Marsh. But rebuilding after defaults or missed payments will take longer. The key is consistency and patience. 'Check where you stand, build good habits and monitor your progress,' says Shanbhag. 'It's not about perfection – it's about showing that you're responsible with money.'

Daily Mail​

32 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Supermarkets suffer 'dismal' May as Brits cut spending on food and booze amid economic gloom with retail sales diving by biggest rate in a year

UK retail sales fell at the fastest rate in more than a year last month, as food and clothing sales slumped and shoppers cut back on alcohol and tobacco spending, new figures show. The Office for National Statistics said the total volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 per cent in May. This compared with a 1.3 per cent rise in April, which was revised up from a previous estimate of 1.2 per cent for the month. May's overall retail sales came in considerably below the 0.7 per cent decline that most economists had been expecting for the month. It was also the biggest monthly fall since December 2023. The ONS said it was a 'dismal' month for supermarkets with food sales falling sharply following a jump in April. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: 'Retail sales fell sharply in May with their largest monthly fall since the end of 2023. 'This was mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April. 'Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco with customers choosing to make cutbacks.' She added that clothing and homeware stores were reporting reduced footfall in May – meaning fewer people coming into shops. A drop in demand for DIY items last month followed the sunny weather in April that had boosted home improvement projects. Despite May's decline, retail sales volumes rose by 0.8% across the three months to May, compared with the three months to February.