Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

What was forgotten was this:-

The L & B Blackmoor Company is a subsidiary of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust.

Ok accepting this is right then to be honest if there is a huge loan that needs paid off first, does it really matter if you get a discount now or would you prefer to see the pub survive and still be here is say 5 or 6 years time?

 

i think the discount comments are from confusion, the pub did offer a discount for trust members on production of their membership card but i believe that stopped somewhere around Nov 2019

 

I have received a discount many times since then, the most recent when I was there in January.
Mike

 

We are pleased to announce that agreement has been reached for the L & B Blackmoor Company PLC (L&BBCo.) to purchase the Old Station House Inn at Blackmoor Gate.

The purchase includes the pub and its restaurant, the adjoining house as well as adjacent land (purchased by the L & B Trust) to accommodate the construction of the future L & B station at this site. The purchase will be completed on 17th April, 2023. The accompanying photo shows the property as viewed from its entrance.

The L & B Blackmoor Company is a subsidiary of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust.

We are indebted to the previous landlords, Mr. & Mrs. Shepherd, who have worked hard over many years to provide a warm welcome to their customers, building a successful business. The venue will eventually provide station facilities for the extended Lynton & Barnstaple Railway whilst continuing its operations as a pub and restaurant.

As the new landlords, the L&BBCo. is not planning any radical change to the premises. However, a programme of investment is planned which will respect the heritage of the building and its setting, retaining and enhancing the character of the building.

The new General Manager of the pub, Mark Halliday, has extensive experience in the hospitality industry. He is looking forward to welcoming all customers, old and new, including the railway’s members and supporters. However, he respectfully asks that it is remembered that the L&BBCo. are the pub’s owners, not the L & B Trust. Please use the venue as you would any other pub/restaurant but, if you have any comments, please direct them to Mark.

Finally, especial thanks are due to our trustee, Ian Cowling, for dealing with the numerous aspects of the negotiations that have led to this purchase being made.


That is the full statement from the L&BR website so there is no misunderstanding, but is it just me or does this statement have more questions that answers?

 

It’s just you

 

That's what I was going to say!

 

It boggles the mind how people can claim that they are involved with the railway, the "oh I'm a member" syndrome, and then come onto a public forum and talk absolute rubbish about some fairly fundamental aspects of the railway. There is nothing to read into with that statement.

A company, which was formed with the sole purpose of buying and then running a specific restaurant/pub, has agreed with the current owners for the sale of said restaurant/pub, and subsequently released a statement confirming the agreement of sale of said restaurant/pub, in doing so reaffirming its intentions to continue operating said restaurant/pub as it currently stands.

Where do the questions come from in that?

 

There are lots of detail questions that come to mind about how it will operate, but none of them are the sort of thing I'd remotely expect to see in a press release - and as an outsider who's yet to visit the OSHI, none that I have any legitimate reason to ask. And I would want the manager hired to run the place to be able to run it in line with the general strategy set for it, not detailed operational questions.

 

I contacted my friend, the Regius Professor of Mess Room Logic at a leading University, to ask if there was any possible way to parse that sentence, but after several hours study he just came back to me and said "nah mate, it's just a torrent of words vomited out with no discernible meaning or logic".

Tom

 

The point of the PR is fine, however as I read it, it comes across not knowing who is in charge the Trust or Blackmoor PLC as the subsidiary of the Trust. then it goes on the say that the Blackmoor PLC are the owners which is fine, however then it states that it isn't owned by the Trust but above all of this it says the Blackmoor PLC is a subsidiary of the Trust? Confused yet?

Finally it talks about a planed refurbishment it most likely needs it. But has anyone asked the people that use it what they would like to see the most?

As for a railway? I can't see that happening for at least a couple of years if not more than that as the site is going to need a lot more money than has been spent there already. It will be like rebuilding Woody Bay all over again but on a much bigger canvas all for about £30 million+ pounds.

And I have not even mentioned all the civil engineering works that will also need to take place to get the railway back under the road and all that spoil needs to go somewhere while this is going on! So we are not out of the woods yet.

 

Please ! STOP ! This continuous nit-picking is not achieving anything, rather the opposite. Do you really think nobody has considered most of the issues you raise ? If you wait patiently for a few weeks I am sure most of your questions will be answered.
We know you care about the railway but you seem a little overwrought. Time to take that holiday, perhaps ?

 

For once maybe you are correct. I do not think anyone has realised that there will be engineering work needed, or that it will costs a fair amount of money.

Just say well done to the people who have spent many hours on the negotiations, and leave off the constant criticism of everything.

 

I quite agree. Spreading ample doom and gloom achieves nothing. Buying Blackmore Gate is a fantastic achievement, which I helped to fund. My faith in the proposal was justified. Be thankful, and please stop criticising.

 

The ownership is straightforward. Blackmoor plc own the pub, and are themselves owned by the Trust (i.e., are a subsidiary). That's an absolutely normal company structure*, and should not cause confusion - especially not to those who are well versed in the intricacies of L&B corporate structures. The reminder is a useful caution to friends and foes of the L&B alike, that the pub is a distinct business and that it will be run as its own business rather than closely as a part of the Trust. For which I, at least, say "thank goodness".

You then ask about the proposed "refurbishment" (in fact, the press release refers to "a programme of investment"). Neither of us, nor I suspect almost anyone else on here, has any knowledge of the real condition of the pub, or the analysis that has been done of what refurbishment is required, or of how that analysis has been done, or of the trade offs between that investment and the agreed sale price. There is, however, a clear signal of a business plan at work - which is what I would expect of a commercial purchase. It is entirely normal for new owners of businesses to have plans in place ready to implement following taking control; this is no different.

As for the questions of the work required to bring the railway in, allow for some PR fluff. The word "eventually" is doing a lot of hard work, and this is not the place to get into the discussion of just how many millions it will take to get track through the site. It will need care and attention, but I am quite sure it can be done in a way that won't undermine the business.

* - there is a different conversation about the pros and cons of such corporate structures as applied to railway preservation. I suggest that this is neither the time nor the place for that conversation.

 

Colin surely you cannot expect the new management to discuss the logistics of building the extension in their press release outlining that they are in the process of finalising the purchase of the pub? The extension isn't up to the Blackmoor company is it?

 

Where did that one come from? I am not talking about an extension I am just talking about the confusion about ownership?

As for the railway there is a lot to be done behind the scene again that is why I said that I cant see a railway being built here for at least two years since we have go through the planning process all again.

I am just being honest about it as I don't want people to think that we are going to have a railway here next month. Yes it is excellent that we now have the station, but the work for the rest of it can only start now we have it.

 

There is NO confusion over ownership! - I really don't understand why you think there is. The ownership model has been documented for some time.

Nobody expects a railway to be there next month nobody has suggested there will be.