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# Agreement could soon be reached for creation of new greenway along former railway line
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/agreement-could-soon-be-reached-for-creation-of-new-greenway-along-former-railway-line/
- Published: 2025-06-18T06:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-17T08:04:43.000Z
- Description: An agreement could soon be reached which would see a new greenway opened along the route of a former railway track through Lichfield and Hammerwich.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Burntwood, Hammerwich, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:49, News

AN agreement could soon be reached which would see a new greenway opened along the route of a former railway track through Lichfield and Hammerwich.

Lichfield District Council has been in talks with Network Rail over a deal for the former South Staffordshire Line.

A report to a meeting of the local authority’s cabinet has now confirmed a 50-year- agreement could be signed off in the coming months.

Preparatory work has already been taking place along the 6.5km stretch, with volunteers from Back the Track carrying out clearance of vegetation along the former railway line for the past year.

A report from Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall, cabinet member for the visitor economy, ecology and climate change, said:

> “A 50-year lease has been provided by Network Rail which will include a requirement for the adoption of the full asset that includes bridges, embankments, structures – fences, barriers etc – cuttings, buildings, culverts, trees and sidings together with any associated risks.  
>  
> “Preparation work is near completion with vegetation clearance, tree safety inspections and works complete, fencing and access points improved at key locations, signage in place and asset assessments complete.  
>  
> “The removal of the rail track and reduction of ballast is also underway and expected to take eight to ten weeks. This means that council is now in a position to consider adopting the route, if it so wishes.  
>  
> “Discussions have been ongoing with our corporate insurer, since the last update to cabinet in December 2024, to explore what level of insurance cover they will be willing to provide based on various mitigations being in place.  
>  
> “The council has worked with Back the Track, a volunteer group to undertake a large proportion of these works and they have made great progress since they started on site in April 2024.  
>  
> “The ambition is that Lichfield District Council can ‘step out of the way’ and enable community groups such as Back the Track to take on as much of the ongoing management of the route as possible.”

If councillors back the plans, then a deal could be signed during the summer.

A £400,000 reserve is also being considered to provide “self-insurance” for the council.

Cllr Silvester-Hall’s report added:

> “It is also proposed that we open the route up to the public in stages as and when sections of the surface have been completed rather than waiting for the whole 6.5km of route to be complete.”

The proposals will be discussed by Lichfield District Council’s cabinet at a meeting on 23rd June.