Lynton and Barnstaple Railway extension refused by planners

Hopes of extending the Lynton and Barnstaple heritage railway line have been set back after Exmoor National Park’s planning committee derailed the application.

The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust had applied to reinstate the railway line between Killington Lane and Cricket Field Lane., adding some 940 extra metres of track to the existing 1.5 kilometre heritage line.

The works would have included the renovation of a road bridge and the construction of another, as well as a halt and run around loop, which would have allowed the engine of the train to attach at the opposite end of the carriages.

The tourist attraction, which operates trains from the restored Woody Bay Station, has long term plans of eventually reopening the railway all the way to Barnstaple.

The narrow gauge line opened in 1896 and closed just 39 years later in 1935, but in its heyday between 1906 and 1913 it is believed to have carried around 100,000 passengers a year.

National park planning officers had recommended the Killington Lane scheme be refused and seven of the planning committee members backed this view, with the remaining member abstaining.

The application was refused because the committee considered it would cause harm to the scenic beauty and character of the national park. It also believed it would ‘cause harm to the significance of Parracombe Conservation Area and the listed buildings of Heddon Hall and its kitchen garden wall’.

In a statement on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway website, it said it was ‘extremely disappointed’ the proposed extension had been refused permission.

“As the trust is a member-led organisation, we will be seeking the views of our membership to determine our immediate course of action with respect to the Cricket Field Lane proposal and other options for the development of the railway,” it said.

“This process will start immediately with options being outlined at the forthcoming AGM before being presented for decision by the full membership.”

Public speakers at the meeting were concerned at the potential impact.

A statement read out to the committee on behalf of the owners of Heddon Hall, in Parracombe, Stuart and Carol Blowey, raised the issue of access.

“The proposal seeks to use land to gain access to the new terminus, however there is no public right of way along Cricket Field Lane as we own the land on both sides along the entire length apart from the centre part,” the statement said.

“We therefore own Cricket Field Lane under common law principles and anybody wanting to use it would need our permission and nobody has approached us about our ownership of it.

Resident Stuart Wallace wrote to the committee to say questioned whether any of the proposed economic benefits were sufficient enough to outweigh the ‘significant harms’ identified.

But John Barton, a trustee of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust, said the organisation contributed to the local economy, supporting around 45 North Devon businesses as part of its supply chain.

“The railway is a popular local attraction and we just had our EX and TA postcode week and carried 1,758 passengers,” he said.

“Visitors ask if the line can be extended to enhance the offer, so the demand for a longer journey is clearly demonstrated.”

He added that this application followed on from the expiry of a 2018 permission given to the trust to reinstate the line between Killington and Blackmore Gate, but that the latest scheme only covered the first section of the prior plan.