Planning application for garage to house Hengistbury Head land train

BCP Council has applied for planning permission to build the 30metre by seven metre garage adjacent to the outdoor education centre at Hengistbury Head.

A statement submitted with the application said: “Following a mechanical incident in October 2018, a full inspection was carried out on all the equipment and despite regular servicing, it was found that the expected life span of the trains was not going to be achieved and would need replacement earlier than planned.

“This was put down to the trains being left in the open all year. In addition, servicing the trains was problematic as it could only be carried out during reasonable weather as there was no undercover area.

“It also meant that dust, water and salt were more likely to affect the trains while being repaired.

“Following the 2018 incident it was decided to retire the existing fleet and in 2019 the service ran using a small seafront train that met higher standards in operating a passenger service vehicle.

“At the end of 2019, it was found that this train had also suffered some additional deterioration which could only be put down to outside storage.

“Servicing had to be cancelled on a couple of occasions as the weather was too poor for the engineers to work. This meant the train had to be withdrawn until the servicing could be carried out.”

If approved, the garage would hold two trains and a Land Rover and trailer.

The council said it would also provide better security of the trains and the height has been kept “as low as possible” but high enough to allow ventilation. It added that the long-term aim was to use an electric train.

“The proposed building is in a location that is already used for the storage of land trains, away from the busiest parts of Hengistbury Head."

The Hengistbury Head land train has run in some form since 1968. The service was run by another operator until they retired in November 2015 when the rolling stock transferred to the council.