Brixham railway volunteers urge rethink as Torbay Council plans to demolish historic building

Railway volunteers in Brixham have appealed for help after Torbay Council announced plans to bulldoze a building they want to turn into a coffee bar.

The council says the derelict toilet block at Ropewalk Hill is redundant, derelict and unwanted. The roof has started to collapse and it has started to attract vandals and anti-social behaviour.

But volunteers working to turn the old Brixham to Churston railway line into a new public walking and cycling route have their eyes on the old toilets as the perfect site for an information kiosk with a coffee outlet attached.

It stands close to the site of the old Brixham railway station, which went out of use in 1963 as a result of Dr Beeching’s ‘axe’ of branch lines all over the country. The Brixham train was known as ‘The Whippet’, and carried the port’s fish on the start of its journey to the nation’s chip shops and restaurant tables as well as taking locals to and from work and school.

The Brixham Railway Heritage Trail project aims to create a traffic-free route from a site close to the station at Churston through cuttings and across embankments towards Brixham.

Work has already begun on clearing decades of undergrowth in readiness for the trail’s opening in the coming years.

But the council aims to demolish the old toilets next month and return the area to grass, and now the volunteers are urging a re-think.

A spokesman said: “We would love to eventually repurpose this little bit of history as a Brixham Railway Heritage Trail information point and coffee bar, working with a local coffee shop business.

“In the short term we would like to spruce it up with a railway theme, and we need to form a volunteer group to help us prepare and paint the old toilet block, and gain funds or sponsorship for the information panels.

“Time is of the essence!”

Just over a mile of the original line trackbed remains, running from Bridge Road in Churston to North Boundary Road in Brixham. However, the group also has outline permission with the landowner to use the Bridge Road to Copythorne Road bridge section.

The current plan includes a link to America Lane, passing under the Copythorne Road bridge.

There are plans to have a series of illustrated signboards along the route, and one is already in position at the top of Rope Walk, just opposite the original location of Brixham Station before it was replaced by housing.

Stories told along the way will include the links between Brixham’s fishing industry and the railway, holiday camps, farms, Agatha Christie, Second World War aviation fuel sidings, American Army Engineers and Churston Court.

Glen Gardner, who chairs the Brixham Railway Heritage Trail community interest company, said: “This is a unique opportunity not just to tell the story of Brixham, but also to provide an interconnected journey to places of heritage and history in the area and, crucially, to bring together a wide cross-section of community groups as well as visitors with diverse interests.

“Our ultimate vision is to create a pleasant, peaceful and safe trail that will be accessible to all, including seasoned walkers, cyclists, families with children in pushchairs, and people with mobility aids.

“A route that is also a practical, green and healthy alternative to driving on the main roads.”