The Bala Lake Railway Trust's ‘Red Dragon Project’ has secured planning permission for its extension into Bala town centre.

The trust's decade-long effort was bolstered by socio-economic funding from Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS).

This financial backing was crucial in overcoming the setback of an initial refusal in 2022.

NRS awarded £36,725 to the trust to revise the expired technical reports and conduct additional surveys, facilitating a successful resubmission of the planning application.

(Image: Supplied) Tom Williams, NRS Trawsfynydd site director, said: "We are committed to fostering growth, driving transformation, and ensuring sustainability.

"Our support for the Bala Lake Railway Trust’s Red Dragon Project exemplifies our dedication to socio-economic development.

"We are proud to contribute to a project that not only preserves heritage but also promises substantial economic benefits and job creation for the local community."

The NRS funding served as a vital support to the Red Dragon project, enabling the trust to overcome technical challenges and regulatory hurdles.

With the £4 million extension now greenlit, the trust can move forward with plans to bring the project to fruition.

Beyond its heritage significance, the extended railway line is expected to boost the local economy significantly.

Once operational, the town centre extension is projected to inject £420,000 annually into the local economy and create 20 new jobs in the South Gwynedd tourism sector.

(Image: Supplied) Bala Lake Railway trustee, Toby Watkins, said: "The value of the generous help and support from NRS cannot be underestimated.

"We are extremely grateful to them for their faith in us and their understanding of the huge socio-economic impact of our project.

"Their support on several occasions is one of the best cases of NRS helping a local community and without their valuable assistance at a crucial stage of our project it would have taken us years to progress to where we now are; ready to extend a thriving heritage railway into Bala town."

The approval signifies a major stride forward for the trust, which would not have been possible without NRS's consistent financial assistance.

The trust is now poised to commence construction, turning their long-held vision into reality when the funding for this phase is secured.

(Image: Supplied) This is not the first time NRS has extended its support to the trust.

Over the years, they have received a total of £98,515 from NRS.

NRS is part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group, which has invested more than £60 million of direct socio-economic funding across the UK over the last five years, leveraging further investment from partners to support significant projects that enable permanent and sustainable change in its site communities.