British Rail Land

The British Railway Board also have land set aside for allotments, but, like the local authorities, they have a waiting list.

They also grant permission for 'Garden extensions' to people living alongside the railways although only if this is deemed not to conflict with the operational use of the line; safety and interference with the stability of the cutting and embankment are their main grounds for refusing permission.

People wishing to take land beside an operational line but living away from it would be unlikely to succeed but where a large area exists with direct access from a public road it may well be worth pursuing.

Railway land which is no longer operational is usually sold once British Rail are satisfied they no longer have a use for it. In the case of a disused line the land is usually offered to the owner of the land adjoining it so that the land is returned from whence it came 100 years ago.

Larger plots, such as goods yards, are usually sold to the highest bidder which is normally a developer and rarely for agricultural land.

British Rail Property Board, 274, Bishopsgate, London EC2. O1-247 5444.