The Bala Lake Railway has been granted permission by the Snowdonia National Park to extend the line from Pen y Bont to a new location just off the High Street in the centre of Bala town.
The railway has overcome the disappointment of being refused permission last year.
The decision, taken in April, was based on the assumption that an increase in visitors to Bala would overload the town’s water treatment works, meaning that an increased amount of phosphate would be released into the River Dee.
The planning authority has put a raft of conditions in place that need to be satisfied before any work can begin.
“ This is a very exciting day here in Wales and we would all like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us both financially and morally in something that until now was completely speculative. Without that support this would all still be and remain a dream. That belief in us and the project is what kept us all going and we will never forget that”
Bala Lake Railway Trust chairman, Julian Birley
Responses
Fantastic news.
This has been a long time coming and it can only help the fortunes of a great railway.
I can’t wait to see construction commence.
WOW, this really is splendidly good news, I myself have been out there to the bala lake railway in June of this very year 2024, on the way home from oswestry at the time.
I bet the future extension of this beautifully uplifting narrow-gauge railway attraction, will most potentially bring further income and attract further visitors for future generations.
How many thousands wasted on bureaucracy to end up in the same place!
Absolutely. A terrible waste of money and effort which could have gone into actually starting the build of this long awaited extension.
It was the dream (to reach a different but probably not as good Bala station) way back in the 70s when I was a member of the society. Great to see it actually come to fruition.
Can’t wait to get a ride over the Dee and into the town centre.
Good news. Now that the Snowdonia National Park Authority has seen sense, perhaps the Exmoor National Park Authority will likewise see sense over the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway extension project, and then perhaps the Dartmoor National Park Authority will see sense over the South Devon Railway aspiration to extend back into Ashburton.