The owners of a former railway carriage that has been converted into a holiday home are continuing their fight to get planning approval.

An old Great Western Railway carriage was converted by couple, Andrea Pearman and Richard Coleman, into two holiday lets, at Commrooks Farm, in Straight Drove, Coveney.

The converted railway carriage even appeared in an episode of the Channel 4 show Geaorge Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.

However, the owners of the railway carriage failed to get planning approval for the holiday accommodation.

They applied to East Cambridgeshire District Council for retrospective planning permission to keep the converted railway carriage last year, but saw their application refused by the authority.

The district council raised two main issues about the application, including the high risk of flooding in the area, and questioning the justification for the holiday lets.

The district council said: “The proposed development is unsustainably located, sited within the open countryside and a significant distance from the closest services and facilities.

“Additionally, insufficient justification has been provided as to demonstrate the need for the proposed accommodation in this location.”

Ms Pearman has now submitted another application to try and change the district council’s mind in order to get planning approval.

In the plans submitted to the district council the owners said holiday accommodation in old railway carriages was becoming a “popular form of ‘staycation’ in the UK in a post-pandemic world”.

The plans said: “The very raison d’être of this type of holiday accommodation is to offer a remote, rural ‘get-away-from-it-all’ experience.

“It does not generate excessive vehicle trips, as that is contrary to the purpose of this type of holiday, however, the village of Little Downham and the City of Ely are only a few miles away, with a range of shops and eating opportunities.”

The plans added that the owners wanted to provide “high quality unique tourism accommodation”, including offering the opportunity for people to bring their horses when they come to stay.

The owners of the renovated railway carriage also said one of the holiday lets was dog friendly, stating that there was a limited number of other dog friendly places for people to stay nearby.

Addressing flooding concerns they said the railway carriage was in flood zone one, which was at lower risk of flooding than the surrounding area.

They added that there are no alternative sites for the proposal.

The district council will now have to consider the latest application and decide whether or not to grant planning permission.