Lack of funds mean railway line connecting ‘severed towns’ cannot be restored

County Hall has said it cannot back a project to revive a long-lost railway line between two Norfolk towns due to “limited funds”.The Middleton Towers Restoration Group lodged a petition with Norfolk County Council to request a feasibility study into the reopening of the old Lynn and Dereham railway.The group has called for the line to be reinstated to connect the “severed” towns, as significant housing developments spring up across the region.

However, Norfolk County Council has said it needs to focus its efforts on schemes with higher chances of going ahead.Launched in 1846, the former 11-station line served the area for more than 120 years but closed in 1968.However, the section between Middleton Towers and Lynn remains open to freight. The 26.5-mile route passed through Middleton, East Winch, Bilney, Narborough, Swaffham, Sporle, Dunham, Fransham, Wendling and Scarning before reaching its destination at Dereham.The restoration group was established to return Middleton Towers station to its former glory and transform it into a tea room and museum. Having already begun repair works, the campaigners lodged their petition with County Hall to request research into the viability of reinstating the whole railway line.A spokesman for the county council said: “Reinstatement of a rail line would be a major infrastructure project likely to be in the order of hundreds of millions of pounds.“A feasibility study – as is being called for in the petition – would be a starting point, but in itself would require the commissioning of consultants and the use of public funds. “The council has only limited funds and would need to direct these towards the highest priorities with the most likely chances of success.”The council stressed that it had a “limited role” in making the case for service improvements to the railway network.However, it said a feasibility study may be reconsidered at a later date if the project is included in the Lynn transport strategy, which is currently under review.The spokesman added that this would still be dependent on funding. Alex Brammer, founder of Middleton Towers Restoration Group, said: “We understand the reasons behind the council’s decision to prioritise other projects.“However, we will continue to campaign for a feasibility study for partial or full reinstatement of the Lynn and Dereham Railway, with our campaign initially being focused on reinstatement to Swaffham.”