Colin Burges, of Christow Station, Doddiscombsleigh, writes:

THE Friends of Ashburton Station (FoAS) have been following with interest and amazement the correspondence in the Mid-Devon Advertiser series regarding Cllr John Fisher’s extraordinary demand that Cllr Charlie Dennis be forced to resign.

Councillor Dennis’ crime appears to be that he expressed his personal opinion that there may be merit in re-examining the proposal that the South Devon Railway might return to the old station site in Ashburton, following DNPA’s cessation of further work on the Chuley Road Masterplan.

The proposal to stop work on the masterplan has caused significant concern in Ashburton, the community fearing that the suspension will result in planning blight on the former station site. We note, however, that the suspension will not prevent the two housing developments contained in the masterplan coming forward. As for the remainder of the site (the station and railway trackbed), recent flooding has revealed that the development of this part of the site would be extremely problematic without a comprehensive, site-wide flood-alleviation scheme. The trackbed has, in short, already revealed itself to be blighted as development land.

Advertiser readers may recall that during the public consultation on the Chuley Road Masterplan, the (then) newly constituted Friends of Ashburton Station (FoAS) made representations to DNPA, seeking the safeguarding of the railway trackbed through the Chuley Road site.

While DNPA recognised the clear benefits that a rail-link to Buckfastleigh and Totnes could bring to Ashburton and the national park, the lack of a credible scheme for the rail-link between Buckfastleigh and Ashburton meant that DNPA had no option but to press ahead with the adoption of the masterplan unaltered.

The adoption was countered by FoAS, who observed that the adoption process was flawed, which would have resulted in any planning permissions granted on the back of it being potentially unlawful.

DNPA could simply have re-run the adoption process, but instead chose to ‘pause’ the masterplan, as it was becoming clear that it was unviable and undeliverable. Renewed flooding also revealed that much of the site would prove hugely difficult to develop without cripplingly expensive flood works that the prospective developers were unable or unwilling to pay for.

It also became clear that the two residential elements of the Masterplan and the planned convenience store were not financially robust enough to pay for the promised ‘public realm’ works throughout the remainder of the Masterplan area, including site-wide flood alleviation works, ecological mitigation, hard and soft landscaping and public car-parking, as well as the planned community/heritage centre in the old station itself.

Recognising that the railway heritage provided the potential to deliver the wider public benefits that the planned residential developments and convenience store could not, FoAS held meetings with the Environment Agency, Historic England and Highways England, to identify whether significant doubts over the realism of the Buckfastleigh rail-link could be overcome. If the rail-link could be shown to be deliverable, then there was an argument to safeguard the railway trackbed within the masterplan area.

The meetings elicited significant support from Historic England and produced no insurmountable issues on highways and flooding. Further, the rail-link could offer significant public benefits along the route, including an effective flood corridor through the entire Chuley Road site (as the railway did previously) and that it would, as a matter of course, free up the land needed for dedicated car parking wanted by local residents and businesses. It would also naturally provide for the restoration of the historic station building (currently Station Garage). It also offers the potential for a car-free cycle route/footpath between Ashburton and Buckfastleigh and environmental enhancements in the Ashburn valley.

There is now a more positive and constructive relationship between DNPA and the railway project. In the short time that there has been professional input, much of the fundamental case DNPA encouraged from the South Devon Railway and FoAS has now come together. Whilst this does not mean the railway should, or will form part of the future development of the Chuley Road site, it does mean that decisions, by the community or DNPA, may now be based upon a sound understanding of the potential benefits the railway could bring, and its deliverability.

With a fair wind, open minds and a clear understanding that Ashburton’s priorities for Chuley Road must also be the railway’s priorities, there is a way forward that should be a win-win all round. There is much to be done, not least in terms of overcoming past preconceptions, building bridges and in establishing a vision that marries local concerns with the railway’s potential to leverage in the substantial external funds that the station site needs sooner rather than later.

Given the potential for a rail-link to deliver substantial public and environmental benefits for Ashburton that cannot be delivered by the Chuley Road Masterplan, it seems absolutely extraordinary that an elected councillor would face calls for his scalp, merely for suggesting that the railway option is worth a second look.