Drainage works to protect Leighton Buzzard's Narrow Gauge Railway after 'serious' flooding concerns

Drainage works will take place this summer to protect Leighton Buzzard's much loved narrow gauge railway.

Up to £20,000 of S106 money will allow the town council to install a new series of pipes and a crate drainage system at Pages Park.

De Winton ‘Chaloner’ waiting to run the Leedon Flyer alongside Pedmoura on a full line service train at Page’s Park Station. Image: Leighton Buzzard Railway.

placeholder image — De Winton ‘Chaloner’ waiting to run the Leedon Flyer alongside Pedmoura on a full line service train at Page’s Park Station. Image: Leighton Buzzard Railway.

The work will take place in August – with a date to be confirmed soon – and follows "serious" concerns about flooding and the "ever-increasing challenge" of climate change.

A Leighton-Linslade Town Council spokesman said: "Councillors felt this was a much-needed option to ensure the water from our land does not cause future issues for the railway.

A map showing where the new drainage system will be laid. Image: Leighton-Linslade Town Council.

"There have been issues in previous years of heavy rainfall, and since the refurbishment of the station itself.

"The addition of the block pavers around their [the railway's] building has also contributed to the water reaching the building quicker.

"Climate change plays its part in these things, with drier summers causing the land to crack and additional fissures underground that then don't fully close in winter."

A Leighton Buzzard Railway spokesman said: "The improvements are obviously to our advantage and we are very grateful to the town council for finding the money to enable the work to be done.

An illustration of the crate. Image: Leighton-Linslade Town Council.

"We will work with the town council to ensure that our visitors are not adversely affected and we will manage alternative parking should that be necessary.

"The work should not have any impact on the operation of our train services."

The works will take approximately one week to complete, while contractors lay a series of drainage pipes under the park's surface that lead to a crate drainage system buried deep in the ground.

This method will allow the water to dissipate back into the ground and prevent surface flooding.

"Due to SUDS (sustainable urban drainage systems) compliance, we cannot feed this water back into any existing drainage further down the park or the main road rainwater drainage," added the council spokesman.

The Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway contacted the town council at the end of last year to ask for help after suffering from flooding issues during the wetter months.

In a town council agenda, the flooding is described as "a serious on-going concern to its [the railway's] operations" – with issues around surface water ponding and flooding "to the detriment of the station buildings and its operation."

The problem of climate change was also noted as an "an ever increasing challenge".

The agenda explains: "Because of the topography, surface water run off from the park naturally flows in the direction of the railway and its associated station buildings."

However, the agenda also notes that the "wider issues" surrounding flooding of this part of Pages Park – including the visitor car park to the railway – "will not be resolved by this project".

The work was approved at the town council's grounds and environmental services meeting on March 9 and signed off at full council on June 26.

The town council has secured up to £20,000 for the project via Central Bedfordshire Council's S106 Grovebury Road development.