Rail line and cycle path damage 'not a quick fix'

The disused Heathfield branch line was badly damaged in Storm Bert

A disused rail line and a popular cycle route and footpath in Devon will not be fixed quickly after they were damaged during Storm Bert, the county council has said.

The former Heathfield branch line, national cycle route 28 through Stover, the Stover Trail and Templer Way were all damaged during strong winds and heavy rain last month.

Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council's cabinet member for highway management, said the trail experienced widespread flooding.

Cyclist Graham Brodie said the area was left "completely unrecognisable" after the storm.

'Huge amount of water'

Hughes said community members were looking to organise a voluntary clear-up day to reinstate the trail, but the full extent of the repairs needed would not be known until water levels had subsided.

"Unfortunately, this won't be a quick fix as the flooding to the trail is extensive and will take several weeks to ease – even with water pumping currently being carried out by Sibelco," he said.

Robert Harris, chairman for the management committee for the Stover Canal Trust, said: "There was a huge amount of water, can't say unprecedented because it happened at the beginning of the 1950s."

Mr Brodie added: "It's a completely unrecognisable landscape if you ride here regularly."

'Prioritising work'

Mike Cooke, chairman of the Heathfield Rail Link Association, said the group partly blamed Network Rail for the damage to the rail line.

"Network Rail should really at least do a minimum of once a year maintenance on the line, it's down to them at the end of the day," he said.

Network Rail said: "As the Heathfield line is not operational, engineers are currently prioritising work to rectify storm damage in other areas so that the impact for passengers is reduced."

It said assessments on the Heathfield line would then take place and a plan would be drawn up to address what needed to be done, including costs.