Train Carriage Accommodation Near Whitby Approved

People will be able to sleep in train carriages, positioned on a stretch of a disused railway, at Sandsend.

Author: Local Democracy Reporter, Carl GavaghanPublished 5th Oct 2020

Plans to allow people to sleep in train carriages positioned on a stretch of a disused railway near Whitby have been approved.

Earlier this year, the Mulgrave Estate submitted an application to Scarborough Council to use two carriages located at the former Sandsend Station on Lythe Bank, as tourist accommodation.

After a public consultation, Scarborough Council planning officers have now approved the plans after the Highways Authority withdrew an objection after the applicant agreed to make some changes to the scheme.

The application for the Mulgrave Estate stated:

“The proposal is to clear the existing scrub from the site and stand two railway carriages at the end of the former Station Platform, adjacent to The Station House in Sandsend.

“The carriages will be used for holiday accommodation which will complement the Estate’s existing holiday cottage business, by providing an additional form of accommodation which provides a unique opportunity to enjoy and celebrate the site’s former railway heritage.”

The Station House is located to the south of the site and is owned by the Mulgrave Estate.

It is split into two dwellings, with part of it used as a holiday cottage and the southern part of the building is in residential use and known as Station House.

Nearby is a WWII disguised pillbox, built to defend the Sandsend viaduct.

Sandsend Station opened in 1883 as part of the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway, but closed in 1958.

The application site is at the end of the former station platform.

The planning documents add:ed

“The carriages will be used together and there will be a set of metal steps and short gantry that will allow for access to them. There will be no direct access between the carriages.

“One carriage interior has already been converted into two bedrooms and bathroom. The other carriage will be used for storage (bicycles, luggage, surfboards, garden furniture etc) and is currently not converted internally.

“The carriages will sit on a railway track made up of sleepers placed on top of the existing platform.”

The first carriage will be a Pullman-style former passenger carriage. The second carriage is of a different style known as a “plank truck”, which were traditionally used for transporting stone and coal.