Could Harleston soon have 40 homes on Station Hill behind its former railway station?

Proposals for 40 new homes behind a town’s former railway station have re-emerged.

The plans for the development off Station Hill in Harleston were first given the green light by South Norfolk Council three years ago.

However, work has not started and these permissions are now due to expire, meaning the developers have to seek approval once again.

The site is behind Harleston’s former train station, where only one of the original railway buildings remains standing.

This prominent Grade II-listed property does not form part of the site and the developers say it will not be “impacted visually” by the new homes.

The three-acre development site was formerly used as a builder’s storage and distribution yard but has been vacant for more than a decade.

South Norfolk Council approved the proposals for 40 new homes in 2022 but this planning permission expires after three years if construction work has not started.

The plans will be reconsidered in due course.

HARLESTON STATION HISTORY

Harleston Station operated between 1855 and 1966 and its station building was retained and converted into offices following its closure.

It was on the Waveney Valley Line which originally ran from Tivetshall, on the main Norwich to Ipswich line.

This line ran to Bungay, then to Beccles in 1863 when acquired by the Great Eastern Railway.

Five trains ran daily between Tivetshall and Harleston, with a special Sunday train to the coast.

Rail traffic increased during the Second World War and was apparently the busiest period in the railway’s history, largely due to the construction of a large number of airfields in the area.

However, passenger trains stopped running in the early 1950s and goods trains in 1966.