Rother Valley Railway

Was just going to post this… the Mail going all in against a shadowy cabal of rich train nuts… :lol:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...y-trying-grab-farm-land-7million-project.html

Simon

 

Would be interesting to know how the farmers gained possession of the trackbed once the original lines were uplifted; did they buy the land or simply take it over hence now claiming "squatters' rights" ?

 

Apologies for stealing your thunder, goldfish...

 

Just as well there is a due process known as a Public Inquiry integral to the granting of a Transport and Works Order Act at which concerned parties can state their case. The proposed level crossing over the A21 might be problematic. Swapping notes with chums at the Lynton and Barnstaple might be useful.

 

Oh I hadn’t seen your post AT ALL! Sorry for duplicate folks.

Simon

 

It is not "Squatter Rights" it is technically known as adverse possession - and the new occupiers can seek a court order to that effect..

 

Its interesting that they refer to an anonymous donor funding the railway and then seem to name him further in the article..?

 

If so, I’m delighted to see the Mail defending the rights of squatters!

I now also look forward to seeing (ok, hearing of) the pro-RVR piece in the Mail on Sunday.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

An article also appeared in the Telegraph, so it was not just the Daily Mail. The farm land was there before the railway of course so maybe it was sold back to the local farmers. If they are being offered compensation it suggests that they most certainly are not squatters.

 

This does answer the question I posed a few weeks ago, when the news about possible Compulsory Purchase came out. All we had been told was that a couple of farmers weren't best pleased, to say the least, about this rebuilding, and were doing everything possible to thwart it, and I did wonder if a solution acceptable to both sides had been found. The answer, it would seem, is that it hadn't. There's more to come on this, I fear.

 

As I understand it, the Local Authority is actually very supportive of the A21 Level Crossing, as it will only be permitted to be active at very limited times, and in addition will act as a traffic calming measure along that stretch of road

 

A stereotype crashing and burning!

 

Some people , if they had a brain would be a danger to themselves, reading the comments, 99 per cent know nothing about the RVR, It says nothing about that the railway had purchased sections already of disused track bed and have al ready returned it to use, and are adding to it this year one sided tosh

 

I believe that one of Paul Dacre’s homes is at Wadhurst, about 15 minutes away by train from Robertsbridge. So easy to imagine that he would have some awareness of the local issues around it, and pretty easy to spin a story to push a selection of Daily Mail hot buttons (plucky individuals defending their centuries old peaceful way of life against brash newcomers; Englishman’s home is his castle; a general distrust of change etc).

Easy also to imagine some full blown Daily Mail hypocrisy - it would not be a surprise to see at some point this summer a lavishly illustrated article extolling the beauty of the Scottish highlands seen from the Jacobite; priceless historic machinery chuffing across landscape in a timeless scene straight out of the golden era of rail travel; huge boost to local economy of Fort William etc!

Tom

 

Reading the readers comments below the article is also amusing. Pretty well all are pro the railway. I would sign up and post my own, but the thought of having a link to a rag like the Mail puts me off!

 

The rural lobby versus the gricer lobby! Both quite incapable of realising that the other may have a point.

PH

 

Does the tourist industry not get a look in, then? There's not much else around these parts. Add to that the Daily Mail, quite incapable of understanding anything.

 

Bodiam Castle, Battle Abbey, K.E.S.R. (including Tenterden itself). A little further away Penshurst Place and the various Cinque Ports. You had better leave that argument well alone I think!

PH

 

I think you have completely missed the point @Mark Thompson was making!

Tom