Planning Permission Granted for Great Central Railway Reunification Project

MAIN IMAGE: Illustration by Alan Hayward

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 has granted planning permission, so the scheme can continue.

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.

Work will now resume on-site, and in a few weeks, a team will carry out a ground investigation survey to support the 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