Officials hoping to extend a railway line to increase tourism and create jobs have spoken of their disappointment after its plans were rejected.

Bala Lake Railway's planning application for extending the railway into Bala town centre was heard yesterday, Wednesday, 19 April, when the Snowdonia National Park’s planning officer presented the railway’s case with a recommendation for refusal.

The railway told the Cambrian News that the fundamental reason for refusal was that allowing additional tourists to go to Bala on the train could contravene Welsh Government legislation regarding additional phosphates discharging into the river Dee. In simple terms, more tourists travelling to the town will increase the sewage levels.

The decision to refuse the extension plan has been described as an "immense disappointment to the team of volunteers who have been working on this project for over nine years, and to the many hundreds of donors who have been so incredibly generous with financial support".

Julian Birley, chairman of the Bala Lake railway Trust said: “It really is not the outcome we had hoped for. We expected consent with a number of conditions or to have the case deferred to allow us time to further engage with the consultees to finalise all outstanding issues, some of which had only been made aware to us with the publication of the final report.

"It was very apparent that the committee members were, in principle, in support of our project and the economic and commercial benefits it will undoubtedly bring to Bala and the surrounding area. However, many of them were reluctant to go against the planning officer’s recommendation and direction. Some members argued vigorously in the railway’s favour but it was not enough to carry the majority and the application was refused.”

However, the fight is not over, with officials from Bala Lake Railway stating "everybody wants this to happen, from MP Liz Saville Roberts, who took time out from the Westminster Chamber to find out the result, to Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, to county councillor Dilwyn Morgan, Bala town mayor, Owain Rhys Evans, Gwynedd Council, the businesses and residents of the town not to mention the 300 hundred letters of support that were sent in to the national park, as well as the countless donors".

"For all those people we are going to apply again and the town of Bala will get its railway," Julian added.

"Being a charity, we are dependent on fundraising and to that end we are immediately launching an appeal for people to continue to believe in and support the project by donating via the website: www.balalakerailwaytrust.org.uk.

"That day of a train arriving back into Bala will happen. But in keeping with the nation’s railways it has been delayed!"

Following yesterday's rejection of the planning application, an authority spokesperson said: "At the National Park Authority’s Planning and Access Committee this morning, planning approval for the extension of the Llyn Tegid railway into the town of Bala was refused.

"The recommendation for members to reject the permission was based on several reasons.

"Although there was potential for some issues to be resolved  through the provision of further information by the applicant, others were of such significance that they could not have been resolved within the scope of this application, despite Planning Officers’ working closely with the developers from the very beginning.

"These included the effect of the development on the River Dee and Llyn Tegid Special Area of Conservation; as well as insufficient information about the development’s effect on the local road network in terms of access, traffic and congestion levels, and the safety of pedestrians and road users.

"Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government’s Highways Department also objected to the approval of the application.

"The authority recognises the economic benefits of this development to the town of Bala, and it sympathises with the applicant’s disappointment.

"Planning officers support the principle of this development, and are of the opinion that there is potential for this development to be approved in the future, provided that all the required information is submitted. However, as some aspects of the application does not satisfy regulatory requirements, it was impossible for planning officers to recommend the approval of the application today.

 "The applicant is free to appeal the decision, or to re-submit the application once all the relevant information has come to hand.”