Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

As the announcement makes clear, they also raise cash by selling the land to the Trust (which gives the impression that the money has to be raised twice, once in EA and once in the Trust).

 

Yes that's how it works if EA owned land is needed only 2 stretches were needed for the current extension

 

Do they sell to the Trust at original purchase price, or current value, or some other figure?

Technically you are right that it is a investment (in a legal sense) and therefore share sales are subject to relevant rules on financial conduct. No doubt @Axe +1 is also correct that to all intents and purposes, most people will see a share purchase in EA as a donation, not an investment.

Which to me encapsulates why I am never keen on using share purchase in a company as a means to fund capital investments in railway preservation. If what I am doing is clearly in my mind a donation, I’d rather that legally it was seen as such (and if to a charity, Gift Aid could be collected). Raising money through shares, with the concomitant need to maintain share registers, send out annual accounts to shareholders etc in perpetuity, always seems like an expensive way to raise money when all the donor probably wants to achieve is to leave a gift with no strings or liabilities attached.

Tom

 

There were only two stretches of trackbed owned by EA that the Trust actually needed for the current extension plans, one stretch near Parracombe and the other near Blackmore gate, EA offered to lease it to the Trust for a tiny rent and those funds would have been used by EA volunteers for the upkeep of EA property the Trust however wanted to own the sections outright hence the current deal I'm not sure but I think the price was around the actual purchase price, I find it strange that some people have issues with EA when what they set out to do actually works, we have 7 good stretches of trackbed between barnstaple and Bratton Fleming with a few more pieces in the offing, we work to clear the vegetation at trackbed width so that by the time any extension comes south hopefully minimal work will be required and the Trust can concentrate on getting back to lynton

 

Did EA purchase a parcel of land which includes some trackbed or did they just purchase the strip required for the railway?

 

AFAIK, they've done both in the past.

 

Presumably less than a CPO value (plus associated costs).

 

They always try to negotiate buying just the trackbed but sometimes this is not always possible, with the snapper halt section for instance , land had to be bought too,, I believe one parcel of land was swapped for an adjacent piece of trackbed whilst the other piece of land was subsequently sold on to a private buyer, I'm pretty sure that the Trust has done the same thing too recently , both with residential property having trackbed in the garden and some 30 acres of farm land which had trackbed within it at the end of the day its down to the vendor selling the land as to whether they would be willing to sell the trackbed separately or not

 

The CPO valuation is 'market value' in the case of a home I believe a small amount of disturbance compensation may be added but, I suspect not just for land. That is one of the reasons public authorities will use a CPO, a property owner may hope to negotiate a premium but financial regulations prohibit councils, for instance, paying over the odds for land needed for schemes.

 

market value plus 10% is the oft-quoted figure

 

... as have the Trust. Each purchase is the culmination of a long drawn-out (often over several or even many years) process of developing good personal and working relationships with neigbouring landowners. Each negotiation is unique, often needing innovative approaches to seal the deal.

I salute all those involved, from both EA and the Trust, for their dedication, persistance and sheer effort.

 

While I'm a big fan of the L and B and can't wait to see it fully opened I'm mindful of the fact that if everyone is not careful the 'goodwill' call it what you will could be damaged if not carefully managed,especially as this may take another 20 odd years to complete.
I've just read in a national newspaper about the extension plans for the Kent and East Sussex and the last section to be completed goes through two bits of land which are in contention and CPO's are going to be used to reclaim it. The complaint here is that the funding is by anonymous wealthy individuals who are 'bulldozing' their hobby through.
Which is actually probably true but in the main the adverse publicity and perception is not good.
Graham

 

Someone I know (not very well) has been posting with antipathy on FB. There certainly is feeling against the A21 level crossing

 

This may be the impression given by the newspaper, but not necessarily completely correct.

My understanding is that "if" CPO powers eventually become necessary, then they need to have been included in the TWAO when presented. I am sure that the RVR intend to continue negotiations as far as possible.

There is also allegedly some biased effect in the papers due to a leading figure in the press living in the vicinity, perhaps if this is true, then said person could also be described as an "anonymous wealthy individual".

 

The Exmoor Associates approach to acquiring land required for the L&B seems to me to be entirely logical and sensible. The railway company doesn't want to become a general landowner, indeed that might conflict with it's articles of incorporation but given the fragmented ownership of the route it is really important to buy land when it becomes available.

It surely is an investment to subscribe to EA as when the L&B is 'finished', to whatever extent may be possible, EA should continue to have assets proportionate to the original investment - maybe in the form of trackbed rented to the railway, agricultural (or other) property or cash received from land sales to the railway. The shares may well by then in some cases be held be descendents of the original investors, it probably won't have made a significant profit but the assets should remain. Rather different to donations to the L&BR Trust, though it is indeed these that are essential to the project.

 

All of which reminds me that the word “investment”, as commonly used, is misapplied. What EA are doing is true investment, facilitating the reopening of the L&B by providing some of the capital whereby that can happen. It so happens that the return to individuals may well be zero.


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All of which reminds me that the word “investment”, as commonly used, is misapplied. What EA are doing is true investment, facilitating the reopening of the L&B by providing some of the capital whereby that can happen. It so happens that the return to individuals may well be zero.

Deja vu all over again!

 

Didn't want to start a new L&B thread for a (hopefully) straightforward question, so ....

Coaling arrangements at Woody Bay look fairly complex, with a small JCB type machine used to transfer coal from a bogie wagon (are deliveries made to the yard at WB, or brought up from Killington Lane?) onto a fairly low coaling stage which requires the stuff to be shovelled up manually into the bunker. Is it just a case of WB being a temporary base and a more seamless arrangement being adopted, come the move to Blackmoor? I ask, as it seems an awfully labour intensive process at present.