A North Wales-based consultancy firm is set to boost the Gwynedd economy by more than £12 million per decade.

Caulmert, with offices in St Asaph and Bangor, has helped secure planning permission for the extension of Bala Lake Railway.

The £4.5 million initiative, aimed at strengthening tourism in the region, received the go-ahead from the Eryri National Park Authority after more than ten years of effort by Bala Lake Railway Trust, and five years of support from Caulmert.

The 1.2km extension of the track from its current terminus at Pen-y-Bont to the town centre is expected to increase spending on the high street and within the local area by £1.25 million each year.

The initiative is aimed at strengthening tourism in the region (Image: Bala Lake Railway Trust) Bala Lake Railway Trust chairman, Julian Birley, said: "This is a very exciting day here in Wales, and we would all like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us both financially and morally in something that until now was completely speculative.

"Without that backing, this would all still be and remain a dream.

"That belief in us and the project is what kept us all going, and we will never forget that."

Despite its length being less than a mile, the extension will pose several engineering challenges, including the need to widen a bridge over the River Dee, divert roads, and create a new level crossing.

The station building, located in a conservation zone, will be designed to blend in with the environment.

The extension is expected to increase spending on the high street (Image: Bala Lake Railway Trust)Caulmert associate and project engineering lead, David High, said: "It’s a tricky project with lots of different engineering hurdles.

"The proposed route of the railway will be alongside a road and uses part of an existing road bridge to cross the River Dee.

"It will also be on top of an embankment providing flood protection to the town of Bala.

"Without the cooperation of Gwynedd Council and NRW, the project would not be viable."

Caulmert's multi-disciplinary team is set to continue supporting the project through the subsequent engineering stage.

Founder and managing director, Mike Caulfield, said: "I’m really pleased that we have been able to support the scheme.

"It has required our multi-disciplinary team, based in North Wales, to do a lot of ‘outside the box’ thinking to reach this milestone.

"We look forward to developing our relationship with Bala Lake Railway Trust through the detailed design and implementation stages."

Caulmert, established in 2009, is on track to meet an ambitious growth and development plan, with expertise in various disciplines supported by its use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to a level two standard on many of its projects.