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Railway buffs hope to see a loco like this on the Brit Valley line

PLANS to reopen Bridport's main line rail link are heading for the buffers unless land is set aside now for a town centre terminal, project leaders have warned.

Providing a train service to Maiden Newton as well as a narrow-gauge link with West Bay depend on a corridor of land being available through the South West Quadrant, they say.

But regeneration plans for the area make no provision for this - and members of the Jurassic Coast Railway project say they can't go ahead without it.

"It is the catalyst - it is absolutely paramount," director Nigel Ewens told a meeting of the town council's plans committee on Monday, when members considered the South West Quadrant scheme.

He said the first phase of the project would be to build the Brit Valley railway from Bridport to West Bay and then they hoped to go north to join the mainline at Maiden Newton, some nine miles away.

But they would never achieve that goal unless they could have a track through the South West Quadrant, he warned.

Coun Maggie Ray thought it would be a greatly missed opportunity if they did not set aside a corridor for the railway - whether or not it ever happened.

Coun Charles Wild said he thought a railway would "desecrate" the valley between Bridport and West Bay.

The scheme had also been viewed by some as a "Trojan horse" to open the way for other development on the far side of the river valley at Broomhills.

"We need to concentrate on developing the public transport we have," he said.

Mayor Geoff Ackerman said : "It's pie in the sky - I can't see it coming off."

Coun Sandra Brown said they should allow for the railway.

"It would be a sadly missed opportunity if we didn't leave space now," she said. "It may be pie in the sky - I would like to think it's not."

Coun Karl Wallace said a rail link between Maiden Newton and Bradpole would be a better option - rather than coming right into the town.

Chairman Ros Kayes said by not leaving a narrow corridor for the railway a huge opportunity would be missed - something they might regret in the future. In 100 years time people night wish they had a railway.

Members voted 5-3 in favour of asking for land in the South West Quadrant to be set aside for use by the railway.

9:59am Thursday 15th May 2008

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