ORGANISERS of a proposed memorial to Burnham’s railway heritage claim unforeseen delays to the project are “profoundly disappointing”.

Members of North Sedge-moor Local History Group have been working towards installing a set of railway buffers at the corner of Pier Street and South Esplanade since 2011 as a gift to the town.

This pebbled area is the nearest suitable point to the location of the original set of buffers which were in place when Burnham had a busy rail link to the main line at High-bridge.

It was hoped the buffers would be the first feature on the new Heritage Trail that was launched on Saturday but various delays in obtaining costs for a Lottery grant application meant this could not be achieved. 

However the buffer stop project has also hit a further setback due to complexities over land ownership and per
mission needed from all the landowners to put the memorial in place.

The group has managed to secure funds for the project from various sources including grants from Burnham and Highbridge Town Coun-cil, Sedgemoor District Coun-cil, and Somerset County Council as well as generous gifts from local businesses.

Chairman of the North Sedgemoor History Group, John Strickland said: “This is profoundly disappointing to all involved and the History Group would wish to apologise to all those who have supported the project for this unforeseen delay. 

“It is a sign of approval that both District and Town Councils and our local MP Tessa Munt have all welcomed the initiative. 

“The group are continuing to work towards the installation of the buffers at the earliest possible opportunity.

“The group is in talks with Burnham and Highbridge Town Council and Sedge-moor District Council to try and negotiate a solution to the problem.”