Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

It must be something in the water that feeds either side of exmoor, WSRA issues on one side, and L&B historical bad blood on the other.

 

The trouble is that some people get bitter and twisted and don't realise it's just a hobby and your time will be better spent on other activities than constantly snipping from the sidelines which gets you nowhere. Co-operate with the inevitable has been my mantra for many years.

 

I once dealt with a job where the developer arranged to have a single pile driven into the ground, witnessed and photographed, to preserve his permission for ever. He never did any more!

 

Andrew, after speaking to members of the EA, id suggest you go back to the meeting held the other night and re read everything that was said. Although what you say is very very loosely fact, it is far from the amount of bitterness and refusal you suggest and is currently still being discussed.


I would love to point out though, that what I say on here is my own views and no one elses and that I took it upon myself to contact the EA.

 

Exciting times for the L&B, this is the single greatest preservation project in England at the moment

 

Digging a trench is actually more than enough to implement a planning consent, thereby giving you authority to take as long as you want to build your project.

But I cannot see how the L&B will be able to proceed without access to EU funds. The lottery are unlikely to want to fund a project that does not sit comfortably with the aims and objectives of their various grant schemes. Has a steam railway extension ever been financed by the lottery?

Kingcross (RTPI)

 

WHR?

 

About 45% of the Welsh Highland funding came from the Millennium Commission, European Regional Development Fund and the Welsh Assembly. The rest came from private donations. I don't think any money came from the HLF.

Tim

 

Nevertheless if just one of the landowners will allow the digging of that trench the planning permission will be permanently secure. Funding sources may come and go but one day......

 

And the Millennium Commission was lottery £ - but your right its not the HLF, but the previous question did ask 'financed by the lottery'. As the Millennium Commission is no longer available I'll ask the question 'has any extension been funded by the HLF?'

PS I can't see any reason why the HLF will not support such a scheme as there have been a number of canal restoration/extension schemes that have been awarded £.

 

It depends at where one draws the line between "newbuild" and "restoration".

PH

 

The South Tynedale Railway extension is being funded by a £4.2 million HLF grant. However the grant involves an extensive education program and is not just about the extension.

Tim

 

That seems to be the way to get a lottery grant at the moment - come up with an education programme and make what you really want fit within it. Very creative thinking is required at times! It's a shame that the HLF have lost the plot somewhere and no longer appreciate that a restoration project can be educational to both those carrying it out and those experiencing the finished product without the having to be onerous "outreach" projects in addition, which preservation groups are not necessarily well equipped to deliver.

 

I should have known about the HLF grant to the South Tyndale - its in the same county as to where I live - DOH!

As this grant is only for a limited length of 'extension' if there are grants available I would hope when ready the L&BR should stand a good chance for a longer extension. From what I've seen up at Alston (I've not been that way for over a year) all they appear to have done on the Education front is they've opened a smallish exhibition in an adjacent industrial unit and I think are talking/got? some apprentices - all fairly easy to achieve to get the bigger prize especially if the likely footfall in Devon is likely to be much greater than a rather remote part of Cumbria. As I don't know too much about it (its at the other end of Cumbria to me) I can't say much else, but if someone could fill in the blanks??

 

Further to the note above the South Tyndale this is much nearer to 'newbuild' than the L&BR (in that its a narrow gauge railway built on a standard gauge formation ) so perhaps the line between "newbuild" and "restoration" are a bit blurred for the HLF?

 

If I recall correctly the L&BR Trust already has/had a virtual online museum or where talking about such a thing a few years ago, one of the key points about the new workshops at Blackmoor was to increase local training and employment, going back a few years now but I recall that the then North Devon College 'Petroc' had indicated that it was interested in discussing a joint venture with the L&BR over some industrial training scheme so I think that an educational side of things is in the mix, I do know of at least one L&BR Company Director who also has an educational background has on many occasions promoted this aspect of the project.

 

Good news about the second North Devon council planning permission - granted!
Just waiting for the ENPA ones now....

 

...and now the second is confirmed: http://planning.northdevon.gov.uk/decision.asp?AltRef=60675

Two down, five to go...

 

It has been reported that some detailed planning work is to be carried out on the Wistlandpound to Blackmoor section in order to get it ready for the reconstruction, it does makes sense to start at the Blackmoor end as that is where most of the building work will start, can't wait for the new works building to be installed and become operational.

 

Where has this been reported,Colin?