THE award-winning Mid-Suffolk Light Railway has been given the green light to extend 400 yards to a new terminus, despite opposition from the local parish council.
On January 25, Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to the line’s proposed 400-yard extension to a new terminus, Wilby Halt, taking the standard gauge line to three-quarters of-a-mile for the first time.
Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford Parish Council, which had originally backed the scheme, made an about turn after some local residents complained.
The parish council expressed concerns over the impact of the project on the nearest property, Potash Cottage, through noise, smoke and smut, and also its potential interference with a public footpath. It was also said that Wilby Halt would be too large.
However, a report by district council planning officers recommended that the application to lay the extension be approved.
Read more in Issue 225 of Heritage Railway – out now!