Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Hi Ian it has been suggested that a council of elder statemen i.e. past but good trustees and other L&BR groups would be invited to such a group, as yet I don't think the working details have been given that much though, but I do know that a number of people have commented on about having such a body.

I know we used to have a group known as 'Exmoor Enterprise' but that appears to have fallen away in recent months or years. But that was open to anyone who had an interest in the railway, may be it is time for a resurrection of the EE group.

 

I have connections with a charity where the board of trustees explicitly designed to have 2 of the 5 trustees as local councillors. It’s an arrangement that works well, and where the conflicts of interest can be managed. However, this is a grant giving body and different in nature to a trust running a railway.

Other consultative bodies like PDG at the WSR may be worthwhile. However, their ability to be effective and useful is directly tied to the quality and spirit of governance in the organisation(s) they’re supporting.

In current circumstances, the ability of such a body to actively contribute seems limited without resolution of the structural and political tensions within the L&B family.

Unfortunately, we come back to the underlying tensions over governance and the spirit in which it is conducted. And there, whatever the rights and wrongs of individual cases, that spirit appears lacking right now.


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That's entirely possible, @H Cloutt but if there were compelling evidence that what has been dug up is wrong, don't you think that - if only out of self-preservation - the exculpatory evidence would have been presented?

It may well be that we've not got the full story - in fact, I think it's likely: it is also likely that the full story is worse than what we know now.

 

[QUOTE="lynbarn, post: 2811390, member: 824".....y.

I know we used to have a group known as 'Exmoor Enterprise' but that appears to have fallen away in recent months or years. But that was open to anyone who had an interest in the railway, may be it is time for a resurrection of the EE group.[/QUOTE]

Was it not rumoured some while ago that EE had been closed down on the grounds that "its job had been done" ? Surely it could have had a useful ongoing remit?

 

Over complication, layers and layers of people, keep it simple, more efficient.

 

But as I understood it Exmoor Enterprise was mainly made up L&BR Trustees, CIC Directors and I am not sure but I think members of both Lynton Town Council and members from the ENPA also attended the meetings. I am not sure if anyone from any of the local Parish councils were either invited or attended but what a wasted opportunity not to get the locals on side.

 

We… Trustees aren’t allowed to be paid for being a trustee. They can be reimbursed for expenses incurred and for services provided outside the role of Trustee.

 

We've got the Trust, the CIC, EA, YVT, and for the sake of completeness 762 - I'm a bit wary of the idea that the solution is yet another group.

Personally (and it may be my international relations background) I favour either:

- a powersharing agreement where seats on the board are allocated to the competing organisations and those not prepared to work with each other are simply steamrollered out of the way - but with a safeguard One Railway unity agreement where for example EA can't do anything without the say so of the Trust and vice versa (sort of 'unite or go away' - to all members of all the organisations)

- the truly nuclear option of a unity board where *anyone* who has ever had a leadership position in *any* of the L&B groups is barred from membership of that board and we go forward with a board of entirely clean pairs of hands

 

You forgot Blackmoor PLC.

But as I see it right now that is not going to happen. I do however believe that at some stage it has to happen and everyone will need to get around the table, the most important thing as I see it now, is to have a strong and stable Trust, nothing else can happen unless the Trust is doing what it need to be.

I feel that the lines of responsibly need to be re drawn for both the Trust and the CIC. At the moment it is all very confusing and this needs to take priority over everything else right now.

Once the core of the group has been restructured, it should be easier to discuss all sorts of issues .

 

If you focus on constitutional matters, we’ll still be debating this in 10 years time. If we focus on how we achieve what we need to do, the constitutional matters may drop out as a way of achieving them most efficiently.


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But those are all - to a greater or lesser extent - discrete bodies doing tasks which differ to varying degrees. What the railway lacks is an equivalent to (say) the PDG on the WSR, namely an sort of 'co-ordination and guidance' body made up from representatives of each of the other organisations.

 

My own view was that the PDG on the WSR was a tacit acceptance of the failure of that alphabet soup governance structure, not a model to be followed. Sort out the alphabet soup of overlapping organisations, don’t invent yet another organisation to point the others in the same direction.

Tom

 

Not being a WSR follower, what is or was the PDG?

 

People's dispensary for Giraffes?

 

Partnership Development Group. A committee formed between the various groups, including external stakeholders, in the aftermath of the WSRA "ex 6" saga.

 

Partnership Development Group. However WSR watchers might say it probably failed in its mission to develop a partnership.

 

I have previously mentioned the Actors Benevolent Fund as an example of where Charities Commission action is neither rapid nor, necessarily, predictable. The latest copy of Private Eye includes an update on this unfunny farce, from which it is clear (a) that their ability to respond quickly is limited and (b) that the outcomes are not necessarily predictable.

 

Exmoor Enterprise
Exmoor Enterprise was launched on 28th September 2007 and is a loose association of L&B Trustees, Company Directors and others together with political and economic supporters. It's principle aim is to stimulate, promote and manage the reinstatement of the L&B across the National Park, from Woody Bay to Blackmoor and Wistlandpound Reservoir and then back to the twin towns of Lynton & Lynmouth. But also, eventually all the way back to Barnstaple.

Sadly the Trust Chairman considered that it has done its job. Really! We still have another 18 miles to rebuild.

 

Hmm, after reading that I think that we would be better off working out things between ourselves.

Let the AGM go ahead and we will have full CIC and Trustee positions. I don't know the details but if there is truth in its delay it's only a couple of days, but it must be stressed it must never happen again.

We know overseas folk will have problems and I believe it's been said that can be resolved electronically.

Anne's situation I cannot call as I don't know enough to judge it and in reality I don't have the power to do so nor anyone else here tbh.

Let the M&As be adjusted in accordance of the laws applicable and for the best interest of the Charity (which may not be to everyone's liking, but we do have to make sure it's future proof as well).

Its time to be adults, we don't need a slanging match at the AGM, it's bad for morale and it's bad for publicity, just sensible figuring out what to do and get us back to rights afterwards.

The alternative if that article is anything to go by and how the CC is making mistakes too is disastrous.

We all have work to do right across the L&B family, and in many ways we don't need to step on each others toes, we need stability, which we can gain without too much ado, we need to support the folks at Woody Bay, the volunteers etc, and we need to support the staff, the groups, and so on.

We all understand that Option C was voted for by the Members, it's quite a flexible option, the finer details we can work out as we go along.

We need this fighting to stop for the sake of the railway, and pronto, and quietly and calmly sort the rest out over the next few months.

 

If it wasn't gaining anything it was probably better it was folded tbh.