HOPES of transferring the trackbed of the closed line from Broadway to Honeybourne to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) has hit a stumbling block because the Department for Transport (DfT) is refusing to sanction the transfer. The reason relates to a covenant over future maintenance of bridges. Back in the mid-1980s, British Rail's Property Board offered the trackbed to the railway for £5, but because of circumstances at the time, the offer was not taken up. Several years ago, the 41/2-mile trackbed was transferred by the DfT to Railway Paths Limited (RPL), a subsidiary of Sustrans funded by the Department. RPL has decided the trackbed no longer fits its current plans and, with disposal in mind, approached the GWSR knowing its intentions to reopen to Honeybourne.
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