District and county councillors are facing a dilemma over the Epping to Ongar railway after it emerged that the trackbed alone could cost up to £1m to buy back.

Following his decision to pull out of running a commuter service on the line, Epping Ongar Railway company boss Bill Camplisson confirmed that the buy-back price of the track is being audited before being offered for sale to Epping Forest District Council and Essex County Council along with former owners London Underground.

Mr Camplisson revealed he expected the price to be set anywhere between £500,000 and £1million.

With previously confidential details of the 1998 sale agreement now becoming public, the EOR directors have come under fire from MPs, councillors and railway campaigners alike.

All are outraged that only the track bed is to be offered up for sale, with much of the adjacent station land at North Weald and Ongar being retained by EOR.

London Underground's financial stake in the affair has also come to light with the revelation that it inserted a 'claw-back' clause in the 1998 sale contract specifying that it would receive a cut of the revenue from any further sell-off by EOR.

And with councillors now voicing fears that it would be difficult to block any further planning applications by EOR for development on the station land, the handling of the sale by Transport Minister Glenda Jackson has also been heavily criticised.

Local MP Eric Pickles and leading railway preservationist John Glover have stated independently that prior to the 1998 sale going through they had personally warned Ms Jackson of the need to legally tie the station land to the track bed.

And commenting on the affair this week, Ongar county councillor Gerard McEwen condemned the current state of affairs and welcomed the audit.

In the week following the shock announcement of EOR's withdrawal, councillors and officers from the district and county councils have met in an attempt to decide the way forward.

Essex County Council portfolio holder for transport Ron Williams confirmed he was keen to forge a partnership with the district council in order to safeguard the line but ruled out the option of a compulsory purchase order.

Questioned this week, Glenda Jackson refused to comment on her handling of the 1998 sale, saying: "You will have to address these questions to the relevant department and the relevant minister. That is no longer me."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.