Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

I think the original post was referring to accounts in respect of the OSHI.

 

Sorry, I meant as a director of L&BRT

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That organisation, however, is clear what it's for, has progress to report, and AFAIK has not felt the need to buy a pub in order to secure a stretch of the canal's route.

 

Although they did buy two houses to knock down, on the new route of the canal. So far, I think, the L&B owns one house to knock down.

 

I find it telling that in past L&BR Trust Elections, any sitting Trustee has alway been a preferred candidate if there have been more candidates than postions available, or am I reading in to things that just don't exist?

 

The attempt to have a motion on the agenda for the AGM to dismiss Peter Miles is now in the public arena, having been mentioned in the May issue of Narrow Gauge World. Unfortunately the piece lists the date as 18th May - it got me scrabbling for my paperwork to check in case I'd booked the wrong date for the hotel.

 

Charles Summers has now produced a 500-word statement in support of his re-election as L&BRT Trustee.
His, and all the other candidates' statements are available on the Exmoor Associates website.

https://www.exmoor-associates.co.uk/2024/04/2024-lbrt-agm/

 

I find it extremely telling that he has said absolutely nothing about the state of the board of trustees and what he would do to heal things.

 

Well maybe he doesn't like 'the tell all' culture of today. Maybe he prefers, like any good card player. to keep his cards - and options - close to his chest.

 

Possibly, but it is all about what he's done in the past without really showing a view of what might happen in future.

 

Given that he has been on the board for years, and let things deteriorate to where they are now, I think that's a horrible strategy.

 

I understand that there is an addendum to his statement which has been posted to facebook which I don't use.

 

Charles' addendum says:

although that extends the statement well beyond the 500 words requested by EA

 

Having chosen to spend the first 250 words on crocodiles, gas, sailing etc before any mention of any railway, priorities ?

 

“Usually manage to get on with most people” is an interesting turn of phrase.

 

I think it speaks volumes about how the Trust is changing, and how those involved are responding to that change.

 

I've been over the last few months trying to follow this railway and it's problems, I suspected problems were arising when it became obvious it wasn't going beyond Killington Lane, It's been difficult to follow as the discussions invariably go off subject for pages and pages. As I understand it the unhappiness is the fact that money has been spent on planning applications (of which there were many) which have a 5 year deadline with no realistic prospect of completion. The problems with the extension through Parracombe not totally obvious to members. This incompetence has been flagged up by the two trustees that have now been voted off?

 

Sort of. Very briefly, the main concerns are (in logical rather than chronological order, and trying to describe them in as neutral terms as possible):

• Failure to make progress following grant of application, following the imposition of planning conditions ("Grampian conditions") requiring all land to be acquired before work started
• Attempts to vary ("Section 73") the planning application
• Questionable engagement with local residents
• Concerns about how open trustees were with members when the application was eventually withdrawn
• Approach to revising plans (so called "Option C")
• Focus on pursuit of extension to Cricket Field Lane
• Approach of majority of trust board to candidates for trust board who were "unapproved"
• The price paid for the Old Station House Inn (OSHI), now the Old Station Inn (OSI)
• The openness to members and prospective shareholders on the attempted purchase
• Inconsistent and seemingly weaponised allegations of GDPR breaches
• The dismissal of two "dissident" board members
• The attempt to rewrite the Articles of Association in a way that would have protected incumbent trustees from any challenge from members
• The use of claims of legal advice to block questions, where context suggests no such advice had been sought or provided

The result is a society which is passionately in favour of extending, has tremendous goodwill and resource, but is internally divided while these issues are sorted. Get those issues sorted, and it could go back to being the power it should be - a classic case of "divided we fall, united we stand".

 

And we can add another to that - a refusal to include a valid resolution on the agenda for the AGM after the refusal to put Anne Belsey's nomination for Trustee on the ballot last year. And that was effectively overturned. With regard to item 8 - the openness about the purchase of OSHI, the members were not consulted when it became clear that the price demanded was totally unrealistic from a business point of view, and now the Trust is saddled with an unsecured investment of £648,000 and the Blackmoor Company at least £580,000 secured on the property, and that ignores the private shareholders. It will take generations to pay off. And the Blackmoor Company issued another £20,800 B shares to private investors in 2023. I heard from the Trust's Accountants today (it not being given in the accounts): The Trust bought another £170,000 B shares in the L & B Blackmoor Company in 2023 which made it possible to reduce the loan by £25,000. So the shareholding now stands at £423,000 (including £50,000 A shares) and the loan at £225,000. And we were told in the missive in January, 11 days after the date of the Trust's Balance Sheet at 31st December, that the commitment was £350,000 and the exposure £300,000.

 

The results the Blackmoor Company for 2023 that I have quoted came from the investments schedule on page 20 of the Trust accounts in a column headed ‘Profit/(loss) for the relevant year’ which show a figure of (36,808), but it transpires that this figure has been influenced by an entry against reserves of £45,098 because I am informed by a kind gentleman that the Blackmoor Company accounts for the year ended 31st December 2023 show a profit of £8,290 on a turnover of nearly £570,000 and an operating profit of £32,416 before charging interest payable of £33,038. (the difference is mainly interest receivable of £13,208). I have asked the Accountant for details of this £45,098 as it is impossible to understand what is going on without it being explained. Surely the Trustees should make sure that this basic information is included in the accounts so that it doesn't have to be extracted.