Exmoor Associates - Acquisition of More of the Old L&B Line

Great to see this line coming on, i hope to visit this summer.

 

Forth comming NEWS Two functions in different areas L&B AGM weekend, this is not an effort to distract from Woody bay, but to help the whole of the membership and others who have an interest, in the bigger picture.

Some readers have displayed , over the last year or more an interest to know when we are around at Snapper during the year.

To let those who are not shareholder but are particularly interested to know,and may be considering joining the growing band. EA will be hosting a spring meeting this yearfor interested parties and shareholders on the same weekend as the L&B AGM, where the land will be open and people will be on hand to talk and you can walk about and get a feel for what has been talked about on here and what has and will be acheived in the near future. As well as visiting woody bay and seeing the current progress of the operating railway.

The L&B AGM "weekend" 14 &15 May this year and for the last few years ( previously always was October) has always been a time when members from all over the country have traveled to North Devon to engage with their favourit project.

Because this is the case and many are finding it hard to afford this luxury either financially or due to other commitments, it has been decided by EA to try and make it where all members of the common aim can have two birds in the hand.

People will be at Snapper and around the Yeo valley, on both days, if you would like to visit, then is a good time, it would be also , nice to know if your interested in doing this so if your thinking of comming along a personal memo would be helpfull, to ensure you get included fully in the scheme of things .

Hope this helps Best Regards TheEngineer

 

And I shall be at Woody Bay with my two L&B 009 layouts, County Gate and Bratton Fleming.

 

I thought for a moment that you were about to unveil a model for "Snapper Halt"..

Your welcome to come down and have a walk about, whilst your there at woody and see the full size model.

EA only do modeling in scale 1:1 and we try to acheive the best attention to detail.

 

There are two new L&BR Trust trackbed acquisitions shown on the map that appears on the “Property” page of the Exmoor Associates website. The two sections are at (a) Blackmoor Gate and (b) about halfway between Parracombe and Blackmoor.

See >> http://www.exmoor-associates.co.uk/land-property/

Chris

 

Both county council ( highways) back of car park at A39 junction and back of layby on the bend.

 

This is the latest response by the L&B to the inaccurate claims on the EA site about new trackbed acquisitions:
"With reference to the recent discussions concerning land acquisition on a public forum: this information is inaccurate and could prove damaging to future discussions as the Trust does not currently own either of the two pieces of land referred to. There is some sensitivity involved in matters of land transfer and L&B members will surely comprehend why it is in all our best interests for the Trust to be discreet in its dealings with Exmoor landowners.

When matters are fully resolved, rest assured, L&B Members will be the first to be told and via the proper L&B Member channels."

 

I'm sure many pages back we were assured by the Engineer that the two organisations were complimentary, working to common goals, and on amicable terms. The more I read on here the greater my perception that is more like the bad old days of the WHR/WHHR, or am I wrong?

 

I am no more sure (not that I put the information up there) that the information on the EA site is inacurate, as I am no more sure that Martin Ball is an official L&B source.

It is distinctly possible that these two transactions have completed.

We acnowledge, when dealing with landowners on Exmoor as private individuals,it is a very touchy subject. Dealing with their land and money and needs to be fully concluded before announcement. The council or highways on the other hand have different objectives, working in the public interest and are usually more than happy to discharge their responsibility to finance, fence or upkeep land, to reduce cost and aportion the responsibility on someone else , unless that land has a recoverable value.

We can be sure that these 2 pieces of land are not private entities.

Regards TheEngineer

In response to Sheff.

From my perspective I have nothing to do at all with the L&B railway operation or the L&B Trust There is not one of them there I have any time for.I am an Honary member and will not relinquish that.

The stance which EA has to aquire track bed route I fully support, and all those people who support it also. I am engaged phisically and financially with EA.In my oppoinion EA is very good at what it does, efficient with its shareholders funds.

The view that the L&B company and Trust (and some members, refer to the last members magazine) take toward EA, is open for your conjecture.I cannot comment.!!

Save to say EA is getting on with the job it chose to do, without any interaction with the L&B at present.

From my perspective, and I am ensconsed in the middle of it so I will say this.

The L&B organisation seem to want to swep alot of things ( issues) under the carpet and find it difficult to accept certain aspects of EA's operation, in that EA is totally indipendant and not influenced by the L&B operation or its Directors or Trustes. In fact they ejected one L&B trustee who is a major shareholder in EA, this is displayed by an enthusiasm on the part of the L&B management to have EA's assetts under L&B management control.This is not a situation that the majority of EA shareholders support it is fair to say, and as its their money that is invested in the EA operation, they have the right to make representation to EA's Directors, which many have done in a very clear and strong way .

It would appear that most of the serious share holders want it to stay exactly as it is, with the appointed indipendant Directors controling how EA operates and what it does as its next move.These shareholders indicate they are prepared to continue to support the EA plan, so long as the structure does not alter, not really what the L&B management want to hear.

EA is after all buying and securing Trackbed for eventual joining up, "one hopes" to open the rebuilt L&B, ( today that is at Woody bay, but in the future it may not be , it depends on MONEY, and the constraints imposed on its expansion, in phisical terms, there is little other use for this land other than Sheep farming !!.

Land has value which is pretty much index linked,and as held in a seperate company is "Safe" EA can buy and sell land without recourse to hoards of organisations, it is important they as a tight knit group can do this to negotiate.

I hope you can all see the point and value in this situation

Best Regards TheEngineer

 

Shef -
I don't want to respond to Andy Richards (aka Engineer), or to what I can understand of it, on this forum,as it will simply stir up more rancour.
However, as he casts doubt on whether what I posted was accurate, I can assure you that it IS on the L&B website page for Trust members.
Please contract me by email if you wish a wider view. One point to reiterate: the L&B Trust is controlled by its shareholders who vote for officers and motions etc. EA is a non-democratic oligarchy where shareholders have no vote for the officers or anything else.

 

Dear Martin Ball AKA Poffessor at Louisana University

If you have something constructive to contribute to this thread, as I have done I hope , by all means post it up , but this is the second time you have tried this ploy, to infer there is something sinister going on involving me when there is not, last time it was with "Welltrolleys" and Andrew T you used exactly the same inference.

If you want to post a message to someone in this case Sheff then please send him a private memo, but don't involve the whole reader base in comments that your not willing to substantiate.

There is nothing sisister only facts, which in some cases various people would prefer not to hear, sweep them under the carpet until there is a noticable lump that someone has to sort out !!.

Thank you.

Your supporting some people who I have no time for As and Engineer I have no time for people who fail to deliver or make plans that are unlikely to succeed. Here with EA we have an organisation that is being very sucessful, I for one am pleased to be associated with it.

I hope you can understand and accept that not everything in life is democratic like you imply the L&B is and those things which are not, are more often sucessful at reaching their objective at a much lower cost that is how companies make profit and stay in business and democratic organisations such as public projects have escalating almost uncontrolable costs and frequently do not meet objective.

Best Regards An Engineer
.

 

Errr, is this English? What exactly is a Poffesor?

 

Best use your imagination!!

 

.......!

 

Or you could learn to write comphrensible English....!!

 

I must admit I am completely confused as to what's going on here, but as my name was mentioned in passing, can I just observe that all this bickering does neither the L&B, or the heritage movement in general, any favours whatsoever.

 

I was up near Bratton Fleming on Sunday and decided to broadly follow the course of the L&B back to Barnstaple before heading back to the depths of Cornwall.

The valley was looking particularly nice in the late afternoon and is crying out for a railway to run through it - especially with the way the railway dives under the road, towers overhead at Chelfham and then a little later clings to the side of the road, all within around 5/10 minutes driving.

The modus operandi of Exmoor Associates may not be to everyone's satisfaction, but like it or loathe it they are a major player in restoring the Lynton & Barnstaple, particularly if it wants to return to both its namesakes. They deserve all the support they can get - and less detracting comments from within the L&B (particularly in print in its magazine) - if we want to have the chance of seeing trains back in the Yeo Valley again.

Charlie