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Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Discussion in 'Narrow Gauge Railways' started by 50044 Exeter, Dec 25, 2009.

  1. Michael B

    Michael B Member

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    The 1891 Electric Tramroad scheme would have left the Ilfracombe line at Pottington, crossed what is now the A361 on the level, straight through the still existing rank of terraced houses at Bradiford, crossed the road there near the Mill on a bridge and then on through Muddiford and across Berry Down on its way the Blackmoor Gate, but it could have turned right before getting to Roborough to join the L & B somewhere around Kingdon Gardens/Yeotown.
     
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  2. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    And this, ladies and gentlemen is why you need to be very careful about what you say on an Internet forum.
    How does anyone know that 'WhoKnows' isn't one of the most vociferous objectors, just looking for ammunition to use against the railway?
     
  3. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if the residents of Parracombe are divided, to a degree, between the locals, who will tend to support anything which will give employment and boost the local economy, and the incomers, who retired there for the "peace and quiet" of the countryside (tractors and cows permitting !), some of whom will see the rail proposal as an invasion of their privacy and are unconcerned about community benefit ? It will be hard to reconcile those two views.
     
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  4. ross

    ross Well-Known Member

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    The trouble with incomers, as you call them, is they seem to believe they have found a place to live that is nearly perfect. All the village needs is for this house to have a small kitchen extension, new bathroom and en-suite, 2 or 3 veluxes, and for them to move in. That is it. The village is now perfect. And no further change can be permitted. And so they start the 'village protection society', which seeks to stop all unnecessary change or development it needs.
    Especially townies buying up cottages and extending them and installing roof lights....
     
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  5. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

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    Exactly - It is well known that opposers check Facebook and Forums such as this to find out what is happening and the way that supporters are thinking. On another thread on this forum - a well known and particularly vocal opposer posted many questions to gain information.
     
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  6. ilvaporista

    ilvaporista Part of the furniture

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    I will remind everyone again of the significant delays and expense incurred by CHR in the planning application due to such information on an open forum. This is why it went to a private members only format.
     
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  7. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    We have the same issue in Cumbria.
     
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  8. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

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    Do you have a particular "thing" against roof lights ? :eek::)
     
  9. ilvaporista

    ilvaporista Part of the furniture

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    Rest assured that it's not just a UK thing. We have the same issues here in the hills of Italy!
     
  10. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    That thought had crossed my mind too....which is why my objective is to try to clarify points, rather than just 'knock' them.
     
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  11. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    With the side effect of pricing the children of the indigenous population out of the housing market entirely, but since, as you point out, the incoming NIMBY does all in their power to cripple the local economy, there are precious few employment opportunities in any deliberately fossilised illusion, certainly not ones which command the salary needed to buy a house on Exmoor, were one available

    Note that the NIMBY will move heaven and earth to stop the necessary houses being built, as not only would that blight the poor dears' view, it'd lower demand for housing, thereby reducing the premium value of the NIMBY's own bucolic idyll. These are creatures who care nothing for anyone except themselves. They are a cancer which is killing the rural economy, everywhere their sorry, selfish outlook holds sway .... in my humble opinion!
     
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  12. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    You forget the disconnect between many incomers and the community into which they implant. They typically have wealth, and are used to the idea of moving away to work - indeed, part of the attraction of the incoming is that the place they move to is apart from where they work(ed).

    That is very different to those already there, who are dependent for their livelihoods on a sustainable local economy, with housing, jobs, education, etc.

    Finding that balance is very difficult - a relative is one such incomer (not in L&B territory), who brought up her children in the area, is deeply settled there - but whose childrens' lives are far from dependent on the local community.
     
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  13. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I see no gap for a cigarette paper between our respective outlooks. Basically, incomers fall into two categories. Those who join both the community and economy, where there's no problem. There are few village schools which aren't crying out for more pupils and those who provide additional employment are invariably welcomed by all (barring NIMBYs!)

    Second home owners present a very particular problem in too many areas. This has recently become a political 'hot potato' throughout both the West Country and Wales (quite likely the Lake District too, but a that's been 'picturesque' since Wordsworth, so maybe it's simply too late!).

    We've a similar issue here, in that Brighton & Hove commands London house prices, which honestly aren't remotely sustainable. Every time there's an economic dip, prices go belly up for a few years. I've seen the cycle several times .... and the speculators never learn.

    We're hearing a fair bit on the effects of the clown show's 'economic meltdown policy' on the housing market generally and the speculative and 'buy to let' sectors in particular. Quite how that pans out across whatever's left of the wider economy after the latest smash and grab raid by the hedge fund cabals is anyone's guess right now.
     
  14. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    In my lifetime, 38 years, I've seen the off comer, to use a common phrase around here, get worse.
     
  15. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Would that be specifically someone who thinks buying a pint of milk in the village store when they pop down for the weekend is the only contribution they need make to a village with one less local home in it?
     
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  16. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    ....assuming, of course, that the village shop is open at weekends and has not closed down through lack of custom.

    As an aside, it always amused me that years ago our local village post office was plastered with 'Save our Post Office' notices, yet the sub-postmaster resolutely stuck to the principle of half-day closing on Weds (as well as the normal Sat afternoons), sold little other than stationery, and so eventually went out of business. A few years later it reopened under a new owner who diversified into selling more of the 'essentials' for day-to-day life and had the PO section open 7 days a week - needless to say, it is still thriving.
     
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  17. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I'm not certain the old half-day closing was optional. It was Thursday where I grew up and precious little could open on Sunday either. Our local sub-Post Office catered for knitters and needlepointers, "enjoying" a brief moment in the spotlight on "Police5" following a robbery .... not at all the sort of thing we were used to.

    Unless you're talking about a primarily on-line business with a storefront presence, physical shops are getting trimmer on the ground in towns and cities. For many of the villages round here, they're lucky if there's still a pub ... and those seem to be vanishing nearly as fast as ash trees.
     
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  18. RailWest

    RailWest Part of the furniture

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    Don't mention ash trees - I have 3 large ones in my garden that will need to be felled within the next couple of years and will cost me ££££££ :-(
     
  19. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    It's heartbreaking every time we head out. I've no idea if any are resistant, but I've seen nothing like this since Dutch Elm Disease struck. Here is one the very few places you can still see elm trees. I've no idea if we've been as lucky with ash.
     
  20. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    It started when a nursery imported diseased trees from the continent, people are sometimes surprised how many trees are actually imported into the UK even now, we used to have stuff arriving almost daily, as people don’t realise the industry doesn’t produce enough to meet demand, which is why sometimes I get cross when you see these planting schemes promising native UK grown trees which far exceed the physical production capacity of the UK, the Scottish Sitka one being a great example as the numbers involved are ten times the annual production of UK nurseries. Most people are surprised to hear that in the UK, there are only two official seed sources, one is the forestry commission who mainly produce for themselves and have a limited amount of seed to sell on, and a company called Foresstart, who produce around 95% of the UK seed from which the uk stock is grown, and that’s it. If Foreststart went under we would be in big trouble in this country. The limited production and seed supply means that it’s almost impossible to stop imports and the risks that come with it. The latest threat is Olive trees with Xyella. The industry has tightened up and plant passports are used for traceability, it doesn’t completely eliminate the risks so there’s a chance of seeing something similar with other species in the future.

    Ash imports are now banned (you not allowed to sell it at all), it’s too late though the damage has been done, the disease originated in China and Aisa where the genetics of their Ash means it’s relatively harmless to those. European Ash doesn’t share this genetic protection due to not evolving with the fungus and then developing evolved protection, which is why it’s so devastating to European Ash. It’s estimated that the UK will lose 80% of its Ash, there is some early research that suggests it may be possible some trees are tolerant to the disease and survive, possibly allowing the population to recover over time (at least 50 years), but, even that is complicated due to variations in genetic traits, the health of the trees and how many Ash dieback spores are in the atmosphere. Basically it’s not good!
     
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