A couple who converted an old railway carriage into a plush holiday let have won a ‘monumental’ two-year battle for planning approval.
Andrea Pearman, 53, and Richard Coleman, 65, featured on Channel 4‘s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces in 2022 to showcase their transformation of a Great Western Railway coach into a rural £175 a night hotspot.
The couple had purchased the carriage for £3,000 through a friend and spent months renovating the coach into two rooms – the Penzance suite for four and the Paddington which sleeps two – without planning permission.
Eventually, the Little Downham, Camebridgeshire, holiday space was opened in 2022.
‘The carriage had only come off the track in 2021 and was in really good condition,’ Ms Pearman said.
‘We had to redesign the bathroom including moving the waste pipes and that was quite the ordeal as train floors aren’t meant to be drilled through.
‘It looks really simple like we’ve just ripped out the seats and luggage racks but we stripped it down to the bare bones.
‘We’ve had all the paint colour matched so hopefully you can’t tell what’s new and what’s original. It is still a train. Nothing got thrown away.
Andrea Pearman (right) and Richard Coleman (left) featured on Channel 4 show George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces in 2022 as they attempted to transform a disused Great Western Railway coach into a rural £175 a night staycation spot
The pair bought the Great Western Railway carriage for £3,000 through a friend less than a year after it had been taken off the tracks
The coach had been transported from Great Marston, Yorkshire, by lorry after it was purchased by the couple
‘We donated all the underneath gubbins to the local heritage line to bring another carriage back to life.’
Following completion, the remarkable carriage-based let features a hot tub, air conditioning, bathroom and shower plus its own private garden area in the Cambridgeshire countryside.
The couple too made sure to restore some of the carriage’s original features such as the seats, windows, luggage racks and even the emergency stop handle.
But the creation has had to overcome hurdles to completion, including a more than two-year long planning dispute with East Cambridgeshire District Council.
The planning team had rejected an initial retrospective proposal in 2022, arguing that the renovation was ‘unsustainably located’.
However last month, Ms Pearman and Mr Coleman finally received approval from the council, who had been swayed after noticing the let’s popularity.
‘It looks really simple like we’ve just ripped out the seats and luggage racks but we stripped it down to the bare bones,’ Ms Pearman said
Improvements took months, but eventually the retired couple opened the Cambridgeshire holiday space in 2022
The pair were able to open the plush holiday let in 2022 despite not yet receiving planning approval
The remarkable carriage-based let features a hot tub, air conditioning, bathroom and shower plus its own private garden area in the Cambridgeshire countryside
The coach features two rooms – the Penzance suite for four and the Paddington which sleeps two
The couple too made sure to restore some of the carriage’s original features such as the seats, windows, luggage racks and even the emergency stop handle
The moving of the train carriage through winding country lanes cost the couple £10,000 while the refurb of each end cost them £25,000
‘Winning the planning application was quite monumental,’ Ms Pearman added.
‘Originally they turned it down because they said there wasn’t a need for it and they don’t support development in the countryside.
‘But in the meantime, we were open and accepting guests – we could prove there was a demand.
‘I didn’t think we needed planning permission as it’s a moveable, non-permanent structure. Our main offering is that it is quiet, rural, and peaceful. People come here to unwind.’
Since the unique renovation opened in 2022, its been ‘raving’ with guests eager for a night in the static carriage.
The couple have even welcomed a former Great Western Railway employee who’s visited more than three times.
After a more than two-year long battle with the local planning committee, the retired pair finally received planning approval in March of this year
Since it opened in 2022, the holiday let has been ‘raving’ with customers
Visitors have included former Great Western Railway employees who have been ‘blown away’ by the renovation
‘He used to work on this very carriage as a guard,’ Ms Pearman said.
‘We have had a lot of train drivers where their wives book it as a surprise – they visit and are blown away.
‘I didn’t realise how many people love trains so fanatically. Our guests don’t want to leave.’
Ms Pearman and Mr Coleman had first planned to convert a boat into a let on their pond but discovered they couldn’t maintain the water levels.
So, they decided to transform the train carriage, which they had transported by lorry from Great Marston, Yorkshire.
