Accounts for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Trust’s (NYMR) year ending February 2023 were made public last week.
They show that the Pickering-based trust operating the 18-mile heritage railway made a loss of half a million pounds.
Mark Witherington, owner of Pickering Antiques, said the the founding members and supporters which included his late Grandad would be ‘turning in their graves’.
He said: “I am absolutely disgusted at how this once celebrated world famous heritage line has been totally mismanaged over the past few years.
“By putting themselves at risk of closure they also risk so many businesses and jobs locally.
“Why have other heritage lines such as the Great Central in Loughborough been open for weeks.
“NYMR Why aren’t your gates open , cafes and station open, shops open. Why aren’t you anywhere near as pro-active as other similar attractions ?
“It’s spring time people are here, instead they face closed gates. There is so much you could be doing in the build up to the main timetable to put revenue in the bank.
“You can’t keep blaming the pandemic either. They cost the town and themselves absolute thousands of pounds by taking away the themed weekends.”
“If the attraction closes so will many other businesses. I know many folk who holiday here year in and year out purely for their love of the NYMR and Pickering. I really fear for locals jobs.Put someone in charge who actually cares about the line, Pickering and it’s residents. I am absolutely fuming.”
Accounts for NYMR show the trust had a deficit of £519,000 in the year ending in February 2023 compared with a surplus of £2.4 million the previous year.
Its bank balance at the end of the year was £1.4 million – £2.5 million less than the previous year.
An independent auditor’s report also submitted to the Charity Commission says visitor numbers did not return to expected levels after the pandemic and “almost all cost headings have increased dramatically”.
The auditors add that the problems “may cast significant doubt on the group’s and the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
A statement signed by trustee Andrew Scott says there was “an anticipation that the financial picture would return to that experienced in 2019, before the impact of the pandemic”.
But it adds that “this has far from been the case” and it is “now very evident that the ability of the subsidiary, NYMR plc, to operate at a surplus as it has for many years is no longer viable”.
“As a result, other sources of income will be the focus through the parent charity, and a realignment of elements of the operating income model will be re-examined,” the statement says.
Garry Mumford, NYMR finance director, said the concerns raised related to July 2023, when the report was written.
He said “through good management over the 2023 year” the heritage railway has come through its latest winter with “cash headroom, so any potential problem has gone away”.
Mr Mumford admitted the past two years were “challenging” for the business but said in February 2024 it made “some huge changes resulting in a positive movement in profitability of around half a million pounds”.
“I am extremely positive about the 2024 operating season, and we are forecasting that the financial year ending February 2025, will show significant further improvement and that the result should be back to breaking even,” he added.
Laura Strangeway, NYMR acting CEO, said she was “confident” the railway has a “robust plan in place” and is “absolutely committed to ensuring we can survive into the future”.
But she added that “like all businesses and even individuals, we are having to prioritise and look at how we can make efficiency savings to reduce costs and look at opportunities for generating additional income to cover core costs”.
“We have an excellent track record of securing funding through grants and are continuing to focus on our fundraising efforts and are grateful for all support during this challenging time for all visitor attractions.”
