Fears that storage containers will hamper plans to restore old Middleton Towers railway

A construction firm has gained permission to keep a trio of storage containers in its yard despite campaigners fearing it will “damage” efforts to reopen a historic railway.

Middleton Towers Restoration Group, which is fighting to restore a 26-mile route that once linked Lynn with Dereham, objected to the three units being erected in East Winch.

The containers and hardstanding area were created by JN Crane Hire at its site on Gayton Road, without the required planning permission.

The firm has since submitted a retrospective application to keep the structures, which was approved by West Norfolk Council’s planning committee yesterday.

However, members of the Middleton group attempted to block the bid, arguing it would harm their ambitions to restore the line, which was shut in 1968.

In a letter to the borough council, Nathaniel Dodd, a trustee for the group, said: “This planning application, if approved, will damage and prevent the prospects of the Middletown Towers Restoration Group from restoring the former railway between King’s Lynn and Narborough.

“The adverse effect the application will have on the larger project to restore the railway, which will create jobs, preserve heritage and bring communities together, cannot be understated.”

Despite the concerns, officers advised members of the planning committee that the risk of affecting the railway ambitions would be minimal as it was not a permanent structure and that the storage containers could be moved if needed.

Villagers also complained that the firm had caused flooding issues away from the site due to the development.

However, officers told councillors they could not consider this as part of the application and that the drainage dispute would need to be resolved via Norfolk’s flood authorities.

The restoration group, which was set up in 2021, is hoping to restore the disused railway line that linked Lynn with Narbourgh for 150 years.

Its latest project aims to restore the first stop on the former railway line at Middleton Towers, a Victorian station that has fallen into disrepair.

Today, just three miles of the once-26-mile route remain.

In its heyday, it was used primarily to transport sand from quarries in Leziate to glass-making factories in Yorkshire and the Humberside.

Disused railway lines have some protection in planning policies, which prevent permanent developments from being built which would prevent routes from coming back into use.

Such lines are increasingly being turned into long-distance cycle paths, but some have also been restored as functioning railways.