Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Indeed but that hasn’t stopped parracombe or blackmoor being aquired in recent years, my general question was if there is a particular difficulty with caffyns or if the opportunity just isn’t there yet.

 

I don't understand the relevance of that to EA, given that both PE and BR are north of Wistlandpound.??

 

I think the question was general and not specifically to EA

 

If I understand the new relationship between the two trusts correctly, then does it really matter who buys what trackbed as long as they are both open and honest about trackbed purchases with each other? All that really matters is that it belongs to the project.

Speaking to a friend in Lynton the other weekend at the AGM, the main reason why nothing has happened North of Woody Bay is the lack of money. It was hinted that it will not be cheap, but once one section is owned, others will almost certainly follow in a domino effect, and whoever buys the first bit will need to make sure they have enough money to buy all the rest in very quick succession.

If this is true, then it could change the whole look and approach to the rebuilding of the railway almost overnight. Maybe it is time to think in terms of a grant application so the project has access to the money to buy up any remaining trackbed that comes up for sale in the future.

I won't deny that rebuilding the railway from Woody Bay back to Lynton will be easy, but again my understanding is that there may well be more favourable landowners north of Woody Bay than we have been told about.

The only elephant in the room as far as Lynton is concerned is where the hell do you build the new station? Ask anyone in Lynton, and they will all have a different answer. If I recall correctly, many years ago the plan was to get to Lydiate Lane as a first stage and then work out what might be possible after that. For those that are interested, Woody Bay to Lydiate Lane is about 2 1/2 miles.

I also take the point that Woody Bay is not the ideal place to have a huge car park, and the long-term thinking about rebuilding the railway back to Lynton was to prevent too many cars in both Lynton and Lynmouth, but rebuilding this railway in a clear and organised way is not something you can always apply to this project; it would be great if we could, but I dont see it working out like that for us at present. The more I look at this, the more it becomes a chicken-and-egg scenario.

 

No grant awarding body would award money to the L&B (either group) so that they had money in the bank “just in case” a piece of land comes up for sale.

Perhaps long term it doesn’t matter who buys what piece of land, but for the present the North/South division of interests is probably the best approach. Of course this doesn’t stop either group from assisting the other with a purchase.