Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

On Friday, L&BRT submitted its planning application for the extension to Parracombe:
https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/news/view/planning-application-submitted-for-a-return-to-parracombe

The documents should be available online shortly, from the ENPA Planning portal

 

When I created the first 762 Club website in 2010 or thereabouts (hand-coded in native HTML - a true labour of love - and good to see much of my content is still in use!), I remember they were very keen not to use the word "Shares" IIRC, I think people bought "Memberships" for £762, since reduced to £750 once LYN was completed and the M-Ws were started. There were also many donations, through sponsoring individual items. (I bought some of the wooden lever handles in the cab among a few other parts!) As well as managing the first two, I believe there are already some parts in store for 3 & 4! Manning Wardle & Co. is currently listed as a dormant company (since 2019), with Jon Pain and Charles Summers as current Directors. The historic company was 'Manning, Wardle & Co. Ltd.' - the comma is probably quite significant! As I understand it, the new company doesn't have rights to the former company's designs or intellectual property, as Hunslet now owns these.

 

Sorry Martyn, but in the original coloured prospectus which I have in front of me, it states clearly that you would be buying shares of £761 Pounds plus a cheque for a £1 pound share payable to the 762 Club Ltd.

It also goes on to state that by signing the above form you are giving permission to the L&BRT to gather the gift aid on your money.

And I never got any response after I sent my money in, saying that they needed to change the above because the Charity Commission told them they couldn't do what they wanted to do in the first place.

Part of me is happy to see LYN at Woody Bay, but another part of me would like to see the 762Club to be more accountable and open to the former shareholders and anyone else who has supported this project in the past.

Again, having an open AGM that is accessible at a convenient time and place for most of the shareholders/stakeholders/donars to attend might clear up a lot of this mess one way or another

 

And in that story we have some of the difficulty - especially whether the funds provided are shares, or donations, and in what proportions.

 

Colin
There was some initial confusion but
that all got sorted out many, many years ago!
LYN has been running at Woody Bay for almost 9 years.
Mike

 

Sorry Colin, but just because that is what the prospectus says doesn't mean that it was legally, financially, or commercially correct!

 

Mike, it may well have been, but more than a couple of people who put a lot of money into the project were thinking they were buying shares; then, afterwards, being told that it was just a donation is not the way to go about it.

All I will say is that there are still a lot of very upset people out there, and with the removal of the AGM from the M&A, you don't have any way of discussing the issues with the Director/Trustees, and it also being on record.

Yes, an AGM might be explosive, but that is what you will get when something like this has been bottled up for years.