| Proposed Museum and Carriage Shed at Bishops Lydeard
|
The development site is immediately to the west of the station, on the site of Station Farm, which has not been actively worked for some time and mostly presents an aspect of rusty corrugated iron roofs.
Working clockwise from the top of the site, the Tourist Facility will contain a café, cycle hire business, micro brewery, small business units (at the back) and some holiday accommodation on the second floor. It is likely that the railway will take the lease on the café. Slimbridge House the original workers cottages will remain in use as holiday lets as at present. The station buildings are unchanged by the scheme but the area between them, the tourist facility and the museum will become a visitor-friendly courtyard containing the outside seating area for the café and a picnic / play area re-located from its present location across the line near the existing car park. However, the new museum facility (see below) will allow the existing goods shed to be returned to a more original condition. Next comes the carriage shed. This is a 3-track wide, seven coach long shed. To house the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust’s Heritage railway carriages. Alongside are two open air sidings to be used by the railway to assist with the growing numbers of trains coming to the West Somerset Railway from the national rail network. It is hoped that Station House the former station master’s house will come into railway ownership as part of the scheme.
To the west of the carriage shed is the museum building. A comparison with the size of the goods shed will show that the new museum building will be a facility commensurate with the railway’s place in the national railway community. The carriage collection will be an integrated part of the museum so that they are available to the public when they are not being used on the line. The museum will incorporate a lecture / film theatre and an archive room. A stream passes the building to the eastern side and the blue areas are ‘compensation ponds’ to ensure that the building does not flood during times when the stream is swollen by heavy rain. West of the museum is an area of car parking allowing some disabled parking close to the facilities. This parking is intended to serve the other facilities on site and is not particularly aimed at railway visitors. The rather strangely shaped building adjacent to the car parking is an office building which a design consultancy firm has expressed an interest in. The south-western side of the site is taken up with housing. This is to a mixture of designs and sizes, from starter homes to more substantial properties. A proportion are reserved for buyers with a local connection. The last building is an inn / restaurant and associated parking adjacent to Greenway road.
Two further features of the development are less obvious from the plan and relate to road safety. The roadway over the road-over-rail bridge at the north end of the station will be reduced to a single carriageway controlled by traffic lights. Wide pavements will be provided on both sides of the road, which will make use of the bridge much safer for all users whether motorists, pedestrians or photographers.
Off the plan to the east, where Greenway road meets the A358, is a junction at which there have been a number of accidents in past years. The scheme will pay for this junction to be re-modelled as a large roundabout.
At the south of the presently proposed development is will be seen that road access into the land to the south is provided. The developer has made plain that he intends to apply for permission to develop this land as a golf course.
| Why does the railway support the scheme?
|
Firstly, because the scheme provides the opportunity for a number of facilities which will directly assist the railway in its tourist activities aimed at preserving a classic Great Western Branch Line. The present museum is bursting at the seems and cannot be brought up to full modern museum standards in its current building. The Heritage Carriage project cannot make progress without a weather tight building big enough to take two seven coach trains and the Trusts other vehicles such as the unique and beautiful 1897 Sleeping Car. The railway company needs the operational space to handle more through trains and needs the extra heritage carriages to cope with increasing demand. The other enhanced tourist facilities; café, cycle hire etc, along with the museum will make Bishop’s Lydeard more of a ‘destination’ for vistors from the Minehead end of the line and will provide more for visitors to do between train departures from Bishop’s Lydeard.
Could this be done without the housing and other non-railway parts of the development? Simply, no. The landowner does not have to make the land available to the railway. In any event, however, the road improvements which would be an inevitable part of the development would be prohibitively expensive for the railway to provide without the other aspects of the scheme. Conversely, the remainder of the development is extremely unlikely to get planning permission without the support of the railway.
A public consultation exercise was carried out, open to all-comers at Bishop’s Lydeard railway station on Saturday 28th July 2007. There is likely to be a public meeting hosted by Bishop’s Lydeard Parish Council on Saturday 15th September (details to be confirmed). The Taunton Deane Council planning committee will consider the scheme in the later autumn. This might be in October but November may be more likely. If the development is approved, the commercial part of the development would be likely to be in place by 18 months thereafter. The railway company would look to lay in the sidings over something like the same timescale and, in parallel, fundraising for the museum and carriage shed could begin
| Can I ask questions or comment?
|
Please feel free to ask any questions via the unofficial WSR discussion group or via the Steam Trust address info@wssrt.co.uk.
A practical, and inexpensive step that supporters of the railway could take, would be to write to the Planning Officer. The relevant person is Mr John Hamer, Planning Department, Taunton Deane Borough Council, Taunton TA1 1HE. Head your letter ‘Bishop’s Lydeard Station Farm Development’. You can also send your comments to him by e-mail at j.hamer@tauntondeane.gov.uk You letter / e-mail does not have to be a great work of literature, just a few words explaining the aspects of the scheme that are particularly attractive to you. Such letters / e-mails of support will be of considerable assistance in obtaining the necessary permission. You do not have to be a local resident to comment.
Q: Will the carriage shed dominate the view from the platform?
A: No. Whilst it has to be a long building to accommodate a 7-coach long train, much effort has gone into keeping it low. It will be set about 1.5 metres (4 feet) into the ground in a natural hollow in the ground. The carriages are about 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 metres) high from rail level, so allowing a little more for a safe gap above the carriages to the roof line, the building should appear to be less that 4 metres (12 feet) high.
Q:What will the railway buildings look like?
A: Our inspiration are the railway buildings of about 1905 (like Bishop’s Lydeard signal box) built in the attractive combination of red brick with purple/black brick corners.
Q: If you don’t have the money to build the museum and carriage shed straight away, will there just be a derelict space?
A: No. The siding will be laid in relatively quickly and the open air space will be used as an extension to the existing museum, with exhibits such as the railway’s heritage goods train stabled there until the building has been constructed.
Q: Isn’t is a bad thing to have houses close to the railway?
A: No. The railway has always tried to be a good neighbour and we will be pleased to have close neighbours who can help with our security just by being there.
Q: Doesn’t the development ruin Bishop’s Lydeard’s image as a sleepy branch line station?
A: It hasn’t been that for a while. Bishop’s Lydeard is now a terminus (most of the time) of a busy tourist steam railway. There have had to be developments over the years to cope with this including the new ticket office, shop, platform extension, additional sidings, loco servicing facility and extra car parking. Outside the railway boundary the buffer depot built in the 1940’s and the business park from the 1980’s have changed the local scene, as did the Greenway Estate in its time. The development preserves and enhances the heritage parts of the station with sympathetic development alongside.
Robin White
Director, West Somerset Steam Railway Trust
4 August 2007
|
The Trust use PayPal for online donations. If you can make a donation please click this button.
|
© West Somerset Steam Railway Trust
|
|
• Latest Project News and Pictures
• Plans and Drawings
• Briefing Document 31 Dec 2007
• Briefing Document Photographs
• The Project Team
 |
 |
 |
Robin White
Project leader and land/vehicle purchase |
Ray Casely
Fundraising |
David Holmes
Land, buildings, planning |
 |
 |
Ian Coleby
Museum |
John Wood
Vehicle care |
|
|
