27th January, 2025
Many people have been asking when we might be able to commence the laying of the proposed sidings on the Somervale land, so I thought an update on what has been achieved so far might be helpful.
Although nothing appears to be happening, behind the scenes, significant progress is being made.
We first submitted our planning application to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) in November 2022 and it was not until October 2024 that approval was finally given. The reasons why it took so long are varied and complex but, thanks to the persistence of the Trust Chairman, Stephen Lacey, we managed to overcome the many obstacles with which we were confronted.
So why has work on installing the sidings still not commenced?
The Planning Approval Notice came with an extensive set of conditions - covering six pages, all of which must be met to the satisfaction of the LPA and their Ecology Department.
Not least is that:
“No development shall take place until, full details of a Biodiversity Gain Plan for on- and off-site delivery and monitoring of Biodiversity Net Gain and a Habitat Management Plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.”
To do this, we had to yet again engage the services of a fully qualified ecologist who we have used throughout the application process.
We met with the Ecologist during December and worked through the requirements specified by the LPA. Late last week we received from the Ecologist a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan that is required by the LPA.
This is a forty-page document which we had to review and approve. This has been done and the plan is being submitted to the LPA by the Ecologist. We have been advised that it is likely to be at least eight weeks before we receive a response from the LPA, so it will be a while longer before installation work can commence.
The period covered by the Management Plan is for the next thirty years, with five yearly reviews to ensure that we are fully complying with the requirements stipulated in the document. This is a requirement arising from recent Government Legislation and applies to all developments where a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan is required – as will be the case when we come to do any developments at the Tunnel Lane end of the railway for example.
We have learnt a great deal from progressing what seemed a simple development. One of the lessons is that, when it comes to future developments of any significance, the railway will require the services of professional organisations who fully understand the complexities of submitting planning applications and managing the subsequent developments should planning applications be approved.
Anyway, let us look forward to the time when, at last, the sidings can be installed, our rolling stock is safely stored away from the station itself and there is no longer a need to shunt rolling stock back and forth at the start and end of each day that the railway is operational.