14th April 2001: In keeping with tradition it is about time we added another item to the news list.
We are pleased to announce that the business plan is now completed. First drafts have been sent to the Countryside Agency and Shell Better Britain Campaign, who financed it. We will also be discussing the business plan with West Dorset District Council with a view to arranging a short length of demonstration line. As soon as we are able we will make the business plan available from this site, but in the mean time if you would like to forward a cheque made payable to Brit Valley Railway Ltd in sum of £20 (to cover the cost of printing and a small contribution) we will print off a copy and send it to you. Please write to:
We still need help to set up the trust company so if you can spare plenty of time and enthusiasm please contact us!
14th April 2001: We regret not being able to reply personally to the many people who have sent letters and emails of support. They are greatly appreciated. (We hope to provide an online forum, as we used to have, where readers can post their views - Webmaster)
5th June 2000: We have just received some very good news from the Shell Better Britain Campaign, web site www.sbbc.co.uk. They have awarded the project a £2000 grant towards developing a Company limited by guarantee and the project in general. We have instructed Gordon Rushton, FCIT, FILT, MICM of GWP Multimedia, web site www.gwpmultimedia.com to proceed with the preparation of the Business Plan. We will also be instructing our Solicitor to progress the establishment of the Company Limited by Guarantee.
5th July 1999: The Directors of the Brit Valley Railway are absolutely delighted with Melvyn Sparks' generous offer to invest £100,000 in the Brit Valley Railway. This offer is made at risk in the short term and represents an extraordinary vote of confidence in the project. We will shortly be meeting with Dorset Community Action, with whom we are working very closely, to gauge the impact of the offer with regard to match funding to other sources of finance and also how the construction will slot into the evolution of the Trust Company which is now in course of preparation. With regard to the latter we have now signed up five Trustees to the Company and will shortly be contacting all the people who left their names, addresses and phone numbers during our various public open days. We already have a list of at least 25 professionals ranging from Locomotive Drivers to Station Announcers to Track Civil Engineers and regional ex-British Rail Directors as well as an even longer list of those prepared to do "anything" to help with the project. The paperwork for setting up the Trust Company is now in place and simply requires the list of Trustees for ratification. Our adviser on the preparation of a Business Plan (who is an ex-Director of the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales) is on stand-by - and rearing to go!
We also welcome grants of £3600 from the Countryside Agency and £400 from Dorset County Council.
24th August 1998: Brilliant News! We now have full Planning Permission for the Railway from Bridport to West Bay ('phase 1'). A few conditions are attached, for example, the car park at Broomhills (off the A35 trunk road) has to be for exclusive Railway use and full working drawings of the stations will have to be submitted prior to construction. We are now moving rapidly forward to the preparation of a Business Plan following which the plc and trust company will be formed. A fairly significant recent event is that a new television series, "Harbour Lights", starring Nick Berry is being filmed in West Bay and the surrounding area. Nick Berry plays the part of the Harbour Master. This is likely to attract possibly a million extra visitors to Bridport and West Bay a year, once transmission commences. This is good news for anyone within the tourist industry and any transport undertaking - such as the Brit Valley Railway!
3rd March 1998: Final negotiations with the planning authorities are going very well. We understand that the Environment Agency no longer require a full computer analysis of the flood plain. Agreements have been made with West Dorset District Council over the layout of the Northern Terminus. We have provided additional sketches of stations and other fixed structures which we are confident will meet with the planners requirements. Keep posted and we are hoping for good news possibly in April or May. Once full planning permission is to hand we hope to set up the plc and invite the public to buy shares. We are already talking to one of the land owners who is also a contractor about starting construction.
5th December 1996: We haven't won a Rural Challenge prize BUT the Rural Development Commision is coming to see us next week to discuss how we can go forward. This is not the end of the project, as there are a number of other options and grants available. More information will follow...
26th November 1996: Unfortunately the Rural Challenge has put back the date when they will tell contestants the result of the competition. We should now be told on the 5th December.
5th November 1996: The Brit Valley Railway has been given full planning permission for the first phase of the railway (between West Bay and Bridport), including a park and ride at Broomhills Farm. The Railway's planning application was given a unanimous decision by the Councillors - the first in living memory! Planning permission will be granted once a few environmental issues have been settled with the Director of Planning and Environmental Services.
The interview with the Rural Challenge Commission was held on Monday (in London). We will find out the result of the competition on the 27th November.
9th October 1996: The Rural Challenge Document 2 is at last online, find it under the Rural Challenge Page. Current 'work in progress': getting a full description of the railway engine, RurCha2 pictures and to get the full colour route maps scanned.
7th October 1996: The first draft of the environmental impact study (by Adrien Lisney) has been completed. I may be able to put it 'online' some time in the future, but this is dependent on a lot of things outside my control - not to mention a lengthy process.
23rd September 1996: It is now likely that the Brit Valley Railway will be granted over £300,000 worth of land by the WDDC (West Dorset District Council) at a peppercorn rent, with a further £50,000 funds coming from the DCC (Dorset County Council). WDDC have also promised a £20,000 grant to complete a environmental impact assessment. The total funds being promised come to about £400,000 - more than we had originally hoped. We have also been told that planning permission for the Railway will probably be completed by the time we have our interview with the Rural Challenge Commission on the 4th November, in London. Both the grants and the planning permission will put us in a very strong position to win a £1,000,000 prize at the national Rural Challenge competition.
We have asked Sustrans if they would like to come 'on board' as partners and they are very enthusiastic. They would like to design the cycle tracks adjacent to the line and will deal with land acquisition.
We have now heard from Bryan Cassidy, our MEP, and he has recommended a number of sources for EU funding. We will be applying to these sources as soon as possible. We are also being encouraged to apply for Lottery and Konver funding.
Another exciting development is that we could carry freight (domestic waste in containers) down to West Bay harbour with the railway embedded in the road, ending at the existing Coaster Berth, or a new berth if the new multi-million pound break-water is built. The waste could be taken from West Bay by coaster to an incinerator plant at Southampton. This could be one of the best things to happen to West Dorset with regard to the problems of disposal of domestic waste.
A report about the railway (largely based on these Web pages) can be seen at Bridport Museum, South Street and at the Harbour Museum, West Bay. The national Rural Challenge Bid document has been lodged at the Bridport Library.
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