The Great Central Railway’s ambitious Reunification plan has been given the green light by council planners.
It means preparations can begin in earnest to build 500 metres of new line to bring two separate sections of the GCR – one in Loughborough in Leicestershire, the other in Ruddington – back together.
Using funds donated by well-wishers from around the world, three parts of the project have already been constructed but any further work required planning consent. After an eleven-month process, Charnwood Borough Council have granted planning permission, so the scheme can continue.
Great Central Railway’s General Manager, Malcolm Holmes, said: “This is a really important moment for the Reunification project. We’re grateful to Charnwood Borough Council for carefully working through our application. I’d also like to say thank you to our volunteer project manager Larry Greenwell and planning consultant Bob Woollard for diligently preparing our application and the dozens of reports which went with it.” He continues, “It has been a major piece of work which in itself has cost a six-figure sum. Now we are masters of our own destiny as we press ahead with our ambitious plans.”
The Great Central was originally opened in 1899, as a Victorian high-speed railway between Sheffield and London. It was closed as part of the ‘Beeching railway cuts’ in the 1960s. While two long sections of the line through the Midlands remained, 500 metres of railway in the town of Loughborough – which connected them together – was demolished.
With both sections in the hands of railway preservationists, plans were made to rebuild the link. In the last decade one brand new bridge has been built, an original bridge has been refurbished, and another replaced altogether. In addition, a further £2.5m has been raised to continue work.
Andy Fillingham of the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) said: “It’s a big moment for both halves of the GCR. Reconnecting the two lines will create an eighteen mile long, living history of Britain’s railways on the doorsteps of millions of people, telling the stories of how they shaped the nation, from the Victorian era to the 1960s. The majority of the work so far has been funded by people making small regular donations. It’s people power on an epic scale. With planning permission granted, we need to raise a lot more money to finish the job!”
Malcolm Holmes concluded: “Thank you to everyone, both here and around the world, who are making this project a reality through their donations. We have a lot to raise yet but every donation takes us closer to finishing this incredible project and delivering substantial economic benefit to the area.”
Work will now resume on site, and in a few weeks a team will carry out a ground investigation survey to support final design work. This contract will cost close to a quarter of a million pounds, with the railway encouraging further donations at www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify
