Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

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Found
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/major-south-west-railway-expansion-10169115
I expect the same complainants to the Cricket Field Lane application will also raise new complaints about the Parracombe Halt proposal, and get planning officers to also reject it.
Hopefully the railway management will be able to overcome objections, but might be hard work.

 

On a detail, planning officers did not reject Cricket Field Lane. Councillors did, after careful consideration, on the basis that it didn’t follow policy and where objectors could demonstrate fundamental weaknesses in the proposal in front of ENPA. It was also clear from the councillors’ comments that, had the project been more precisely a recreation of the L&B as was, as in the ENPA local plan, votes would have been cast differently. The video of the hearing was very informative.

Whatever my views of the wisdom of revisiting Parracombe from the Woody Bay side, the feedback from the CFL planning meeting gives a very clear sense of what is and isn’t going to be acceptable to planners.

 

Do bear in mind that PP was GRANTED in 2018 (see the archive, at https://www.lynton-rail.org.uk/story/planning-application-news for more details) to reinstate the line from Killington Lane to Parracombe as part of the project to continue to Blackmoor, so in principle, the objections can be overcome. There were restrictions caused by the imposed "Grampian Conditions" which meant that the L&BRT was unable to start the work until all property was secured from Killington Lane to Blackmoor, ultimately preventing the railhead from expanding. The lessons of the CFL application have been learned, I'm sure.

 

duplicate deleted

 

The 'problem' - if there really is one - with any current PE extension proposal is that quite clearly it will be a terminus rather than a through station (halt) for such time until the L&BR can acquire the 'missing' sections of trackbed in order to get to BR.

Unless the railway is confined to alternative methods of operation (all of which have the issues in terms of manpower and costs) then a run-round loop will be required at PE and AIUI this is now included in the present draft application. No doubt there will be arguments from some objectors that this is non-heritage as there was never one there before, but then such a situation already exists at KL (approved by the ENPA) and - unlike KL - at PE the original 'railway footprint' was large enough that a loop can be included without going outside the heritage boundary.

 

It should be borne in mind that in any planning application residents’ objections are not the be-all and end-all, and Parracombe residents do not have some kind of veto.

The previous application was refused not because of residents’ objections but because the proposals (at that time including an intrusive ‘temporary’ embankment at Cricket Field Lane) were not in accordance with ENPA’s planning policies. This was clear both in the Officers’ report recommending refusal and, as @35B said, the Members’ comments before the vote, in the video of their planning committee meeting.

Exmoor National Park Authority are in favour, in principle, of reinstating the railway as stated in their Exmoor Local Plan. The plan includes the following criteria and I hope the new planning application will be in accordance. If so, this may carry much greater weight with the authority than many of the kind of objections previously received.

RT-S2 REINSTATEMENT OF THE LYNTON AND BARNSTAPLE RAILWAY
1. Proposals for the reinstatement of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway should be in accordance with the following criteria:
a) the proposal should seek to reinstate and replicate the former narrow gauge railway including the line of the original route and the siting, design, appearance, and materials of the associated structures or buildings;
b) any additional new development over and above the original historic former railway should provide demonstrable evidence that it is essential for the operation of the reinstated former railway or is a restoration of a historic feature and that there are no alternative solutions which would reasonably meet the need for the development in any other way;
c) reinstatement proposals should:
i) Seek to re-use the original buildings associated with the former railway.
ii) Where it can be demonstrated that the re-use of the original buildings cannot be achieved, existing buildings in suitable proximity to the reinstatement proposal may be considered.
iii) New buildings will only be considered where it can be demonstrated that there are no existing buildings suitable for re-use.
d) new infrastructure, buildings and structures should complement the character of the original railway;
e) the proposal should respond to landscape character and ensure landscaping is appropriate to the site and character of the area and having regard to traditional features of the former railway (CE-S1 Landscape and Seascape Character);
f) the proposal should safeguard wildlife, habitats and sites of geological interest (CE-S3 Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure);
g) sustainable construction methods should be used, unless they compromise the historical accuracy and appearance of the former railway;
h) the proposal should accord with policy AC-D1 Transport and Accessibility Requirements for Development, and provide a travel plan to incorporate measures to enable safe access by walking, cycling and public transport that will help to minimise traffic generation and the need for parking;
i) parking provision should be in accordance with policies AC-S3 Traffic Management and Parking, and AC-D2 Traffic and Road Safety Considerations for Development; and
j) provision of temporary overflow parking to help address peak parking demand should accord with policy AC-D3 Parking Provision and Standards.