A planning application has been submitted to reinstate the disused Leek to Leekbrook railway line, with proposals to install a new railway line and pedestrian route.

The plans were submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council last week by Jonathan Cornes Associates on behalf of Churnet Valley Railway, which currently operates a 10-mile heritage railway between Froghall and Ipstones.

If the plans are given the go-ahead, the new line would connect to the existing railway at the Leekbrook junction and run to Barnfields Road, Leek. It is hoped that this would boost local employment, tourism and leisure opportunities.

Discussing the history of the railway, the application explains that the former Leek station was located at the town's current Morrisons supermarket site and opened in 1849.

The Leek station and railway line to Stoke on Trent was in use until 1956 with passenger services to Uttoxeter until 1965. The line was finally closed following the closure of the freight services in the 1970's and the station and track dismantled shortly thereafter in 1973.

The proposed new railway line would end around half a mile south of the old Leek station site.

The land is now used as a pedestrian and cycle path, and is now home to a range of vegetation and trees, which has attracted wildlife. However, it has previously determined by the council that an environmental impact assessment for the plans is not required, as the development would be "unlikely to have a significant effect" on the environment.

It is also proposed that the land would still be accessible to walkers and cyclists alongside the railway by providing them with a segregated area.

The application argues that the development would be good for tourism and the local economy, and estimates that reopening the line would take annual Churnet Valley Railway visitor numbers from around 70,000 up to around 100,000, which could mean an extra £250,000 per year.

More information on this application is available on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's website.

The district council will have the final say on the plans at a later date.