Bideford centre saved from closure
DEVON County Council has made a U-turn on a decision to stop Bideford Railway Heritage Centre from running trains.
As reported in issue 280, the Heritage Railway Association wrote to the council in support of the centre, branding the decision as “perverse”.
The council had issued a media statement citing noise and nuisance to new developments as the primary reason for the threat to remove train running rights.
However, the decision sparked a furious response from the centre's supporters and was reversed after May's local council elections.
Local support
Centre chairman Andrew Mills said: “We are extremely grateful to Lord Berkeley, Torridge District Council, Bideford Town Council, the HRA and councillors at all levels of local government who voiced their support for us, along with all the good wishes of the local community, and also to the various media that ran with the story and national railway preservation outlets.
“We are truly humbled by the goodwill shown to us, and this certainly helped DCC to reconsider their position.
"In particular we would like to single out Coun Linda Hellyer, who after her re-election facilitated high-level talks with Devon County Council management – with urgency – to resolve the situation. We owe her a lot.
“We will be concentrating on refreshing the training and experience of our operational volunteers in the coming months but we anticipate running cab rides in the locomotive for the public one day during the Halloween half term.”