Network Rail may not have an automatic right to build a maintenance yard in Bathampton after all, according to local Lib Dem Councillor Alison Millar, who represents Bathavon North.
An application for a permanent railway maintenance yard on Tyning Road in Bathampton was submitted by Network Rail but then withdrawn as the company believes it has ‘permitted development rights’, deriving from a 160 year old Act of Parliament.
However, a local transport expert has told Councillor Millar that the land in question may not be included within that law.
Councillor Millar commented: “I have been given to understand from a transport expert in Bath that the Tyning Road site has never been covered by the 1854 Act of Parliament.
“This Act allowed the then railway development company to purchase specified land, which was laid out in attachments to the Act, and build the railway all those years ago.
“This particular plot of land was not listed within the 1854 ‘plans attached’ and in fact Network Rail only acquired it in 2014.
“Network Rail has claimed that the Act means they are exempt from the requirement to gain planning permission for their yard on this site.
“If they are wrong – which I believe is the case – they will not be able to develop the site without seeking the appropriate permissions.
“I have been corresponding with the B&NES Council to get this point confirmed and the planning department has informed me that independent legal advice is being sought.
“I’m pressurising the Council to proceed as swiftly as possible to minimise any long term consequences for the current site and have emphasised mine and the community’s huge opposition to this unwanted scheme.”
