Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Whilst the proposed buyers details are quite rightly confidential. If their bid is successful, it could turn out that they're a closet supporter, with the railways interest at heart.

 

Always someone who tries to make trouble without bothering to check out the facts

 

Not trying to make trouble - it was a genuine question, as I didn't see the footnote on the justgiving page.

If I have offended you in some way then I apologise.

Keith

 

Or perhaps someone who thinks it unlikely the line will reach them but (bearing in mind they have chosen to buy an old station) would be prepared to sell and move on if the line gets that far.

 

....or who believes the line Will get that far and they Want to have the trains go past their windows.....

 

>>>...and how much room would a single track line take up, if it came to it...

While this is only a personal guess, I would imagine that - in the fullness of time - the L&BR would want to rebuild Bratton Fleming in its earlier form of a passing-loop with two platforms. Whether they might - or might not - also own the goods yard land at that time is another matter.

On a more pertinent point, AIUI the Local Plan protects the 'route' (?) of the old L&BR against development, hence previous comments about owners not being able to build over the track-bed. But does the LP actual define the boundaries of what is protected - in other words, is it just the physical track-bed or all the land between the original railway boundaries?

 

Now I personally would love to have a house with a steam railway running through my garden if I could afford it, but of course I realise others might not...

 

Me too ..... though I fully accept that "domestic service management" may feel somewhat differently on wash days!

 

At Bratton Fleming though you have the line running through the middle of the property and a rather small house right next to the line

 

The sections in red below may be worth noting in this extract from the North Devon Plan (Policy BAR 16 covers the entire route from Lynton Station to Pilton):

Policy BAR16: Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

(1) Land east of Pilton Causeway, as shown on Policies Map 1, is identified for a
station to serve a reinstated railway line between Lynton and Barnstaple that
includes:

(a) provision of a locomotive shed, platform, ticket office, car parking and
ancillary facilities and buildings; and

(b) enhancement of the area's built heritage including the special character
and appearance of the adjacent Barnstaple Town Centre and Pilton
conservation areas.

(2) The route identified for the reinstated railway line, as shown on Policies Map
1, is safeguarded from development that would prevent or jeopardise its delivery.

Operational buildings and platforms alongside the reinstated railway line will
reuse original or existing buildings and structures where feasible and viable.

10.73 The reinstatement of the former Lynton and Barnstaple railway line is proposed
along its former route. The car park to the east of Pilton Causeway is allocated for a new
railway station including a ticket office, locomotive store and ancillary buildings, as well as
for car parking to serve the station and the town centre. The site for the new railway station
lies between the conservation areas of Barnstaple Town Centre and Pilton, as well as the
adjacent heritage assets along Pilton Causeway and the former Sheepskin shop. The
character and appearance of the area's heritage will be conserved and enhanced in
accordance with Policy ST15: Conserving Heritage Assets.

10.74 The reinstated railway line will be a tourism and leisure attraction for the town as
well as helping to deliver the transport strategy (Policy ST10: Transport Strategy). Existing
buildings and structures alongside the reinstated railway line, including original station
buildings and platforms where they still survive, should be reused to provide new stations,
platforms and buildings for the operation of the railway where available, unless it can be
demonstrated to the satisfaction of the local planning authority that this is not feasible or
viable.

10.75 Opportunities to provide stretches of footpath, bridleway or cycleway alongside the
railway line will be supported where they do not impede the line's reinstatement and they
are facilitated by land ownership and topography. Such routes should enhance the public
rights of way network and ensure public safety is not compromised.

The full document is available online (PDF) at https://www.torridge.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=13375&p=0

 

Oh well then that would settle it for me if I owned the station, I would just sell gift the station to the railway and live in the small house! But we're risking going a touch off topic here, seeing as I don't have the money to buy this place, and probably never will. I'm from up north in Lincolnshire, so chances are any house near or generally south of London would be the equivalent price of SEVERAL houses combined up where I live!

 

The station is the small house referred to!

Keith

 

I didn't see more than one building on the estate agents details. Maybe I misread this.

Thanks to 'Old Kent Biker' for the information on the local plan - the map for Bratton Fleming on page 284ish shows the line of the railway although the mape doesn't go as far as the station. Reading the local plan rather does suggest that it would be difficult to obtain permission to do very much to the property - certainly building anything on the trackbed would not be allowed.

This being the case it is not a property I would consider buying.

 

not unless the prospective new buyer is a tunnelling expert, who can do a cut and cover on the site, and put the track in a tunnel , infill then landscape it with their house above it all at their own cost of course.

 

This comes back to the question which I raised and is yet not fully answered, as IMHO the Local Plan is not precise enough...

You may not build on the trackbed - fine, that's clear. But...what about the platforms or lineside? Could someone effectively build at the side of the track (or say on the old Down platform site) almost up to the cess, so that in theory it leaves clearance for a train to pass, but obviously the occupants would object to the railway being so close. Yes, they might do that in full knowledge that the railway will arrive one day, but even so might they be permitted to do it or not? To be more specific for BF, would the LP prevent someone from building a house on the goods yard site or not?

 

Whoops! I did not know that, nevermind!

 

I think that generally Local Plans are a bit vague. However, this one does mention that existing buildings and structures should be used where they survive, unless it can be demonstrated that this is not feasible or viable. Is the potential buyer aware of this I wonder? In view of the local plan I wonder whether they would get planning consent to do any developmentat all on the site. I am not sure how permitted development would work.

It would be better if the station could be purchased by Exmoor Associates now otherwise problems are being stored up for later.

On a different topic - the planning application for the station at Blackmoor appears to have stalled - anyone know what the current status of this is? I wonder how the existing Pub will fair after COVID-19. I assume that the TWAO application is delayed until after lockdown.

 

As far as I am aware, work on the TWAO proceeds apace within the limitations of 'working at home', video conferencing and a reduction in the ability for on-site surveys.

Also AIUI the TWAO assumes just the 'basic station' of two platforms and a passing-loop at Blackmoor, so would be unaffected by the outcome of the OSHI situation.

 

Part of the TWAO is a good business case.
So a basic station at Blackmoor plus halts might make approval easier?.
In a way large station buildings are no longer required to run a railway.
If a large car park is built at Blackmoor a small kiosk / toilet / staff break hut and shelter near the new platforms might be all thats needed? A lot of tickets can be presold online and some admin done at home. Then passengers can then get refreshments and shop at Woody Bay, and maybe get a onward bus to Lyn with the cliff railway?.
Blackmoor can be further developed at a future stage?

Good to see a bit of track at Snapper halt and Chelfham station.
Looking at the video update of the Talyllyn railway on Wednesday they are proud of their viaduct.
Doubt if a TWAO will be needed if the track at Chelfham was extended over the viaduct to run occasional small "demonstration" trains (like the small train in private land at Bratton Fleming) to show one day the line might be extended there?

 

A TWAO will be needed to run anything across the viaduct (which in any case, the L&B doesn't have access to at present) as the viaduct passes over public rights of way.