A man who used his life savings to help keep the famous Shipley Glen Cable Tramway on track fears its days could be numbered.

Mike Leak, who runs the tramway, called the area's facilities "lousy". He says unless Bradford Council spends money in the glen area he may not renew his lease when it runs out in 2002.

The Council-owned tourist attraction just breaks even, generating around £20,000 a year and Mr Leak says it was unlikely anyone else would take on the lease.

Mr Leak, 50, said: "If it did close it would be a loss to the nation, never mind the district, because it's unique and one of Baildon's last links with the Victoria era."

The retired stores manager took on the lease in 1994 with his wife Maureen and has sunk £16,000 into the venture.

He said he had previously asked the Council to help fund toilets for staff, volunteers and passengers, but had been told there was no money.

Railings on a path next to the tramway had been removed in the early 80s and not been replaced. Lighting on the path had not worked for eight years, he said.

There would also come a time when the tramway would need capital investment to keep it on the rails, Mr Leak added.

He said: "We sell about 80,000 tickets a year and the area's visited by people from all over the country, which helps other local businesses, but the facilities are lousy.

"To have no toilets in this day and age is ridiculous but with just three years left on the lease I can't be expected to spend thousands doing it myself."

Sylvia Spencer, membership secretary with Baildon Local History Society, said: "If it was allowed to fall into disrepair it would be very hard to get it back into working order.''

Councillor Sam Micklem (Lib Dem, Baildon) said: "It would be a great tragedy if it closed and such a shame to see a slice of history wasting away on the side of the glen.''

A Council spokesman said: "We sympathise with Mr Leak's concerns and recognise the efforts he's made to keep this local attraction running. However, we lease the railway to Mr Leak on a purely commercial basis and are unable to provide additional facilities or financial help to support his business.''

A century of ups and downs at Shipley Glen

The tramway was built by Shipley-based entrepreneur Sam Wilson to take pleasure seekers up to the Glen.

It opened in 1895 and is said to have cost less than £1,000 to build.

In its heyday the tramway was used by hundreds of people every day, enjoying its busiest spell during the 1910 Easter holiday when 17,000 passengers travelled on it in a single day.

Run by a succession of private owners until World War Two, the tramway was taken over by Glen Tramways Ltd in 1942 but was closed in 1966 after a tram hit a platform.

Glen Enterprises Ltd re-opened the line in 1969 and ran it until 1981 - by which time it was not viable - when it was given to Bradford Council. Funded by the Council, volunteers from the Bradford Trolleybus Association, including Mike Leak, helped restore the tramway.

In 1982 the association was awarded the lease and reopened the tramway.

The Victorian attraction risked closure in 1988 when the trolleybus association went into debt to pay a £4,000 tax bill but following publicity in the Telegraph & Argus enough money was raised through fares and donations to clear the debts. Mr Leak took early retirement to take over the tramway lease in 1994 with a weekend of centenary celebrations in May 1995.

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