The road layouts will be changed around Barnstaple Station to make it easier for passengers moving between buses and trains

Facilities for bus users are set to be improved in two towns after receiving council funding.

Devon County Council approved spending of £850,000 on moving and improving bus shelters and changing the road layout around Barnstaple railway station.

It will also spend £550,000 on replacing bus shelters and improving information displays at the main bus interchange in Newton Abbot on Sherborne Road.

The council said it was also providing £1.4m on supporting bus companies to buy zero emission buses with all of the funding coming from the Department for Transport.

The plans for Barnstaple include expanding the station forecourt with improved facilities, changing road layouts, safer crossings and changes to car parking spaces.

The council said the Sherborne Road bus stops in Newton Abbot were the third busiest location for buses in Devon after Exeter and Barnstaple.

Improvements there will include replacing the existing bus shelters, improving real-time passenger information displays and upgrading lighting in the area.

Family-run Clifton tapas restaurant fights to keep outdoor seating structure



An independent restaurant's bid to keep its outdoor seating has suffered a setback after council planning officers recommended its refusal.

The officers said the structure outside Bravas, on Cotham Hill in Clifton, Bristol, does not leave enough room for a fire engine in an emergency, causing a "severe safety concern".

The restaurant's planning application is one of the most popular ever in the city, with support from local councillors and more than 1,000 people.

Cotham councillor Mohamed Makawi said: "These businesses have been operating like this for years without issue. There are no problems here that cannot be easily solved."

"It's frustrating to find obstacles being needlessly thrown in the way of hardworking local businesses who need our support," added Mr Makawi.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a similar planning application from Bravas was rejected earlier this year, but the owners decided to try again because of the large public support.

Louis Foss-Clark, 25, a supervisor at the family-run restaurant, said: "The latest I've heard is that the appeal process has now been postponed, temporarily." He said the structure "brings the street a lot of character", adding: "The street was pedestrianised for a reason. The fact that it's gone to the top of [the council's] list of priorities is a bit of a shame," said Mr Foss-Clark.

The report said the space left on the road, which was pedestrianised in 2021, was too narrow and would "cause conflict between cyclists and pedestrians".

Officers noted other issues the structure could cause, such as restricting access for sweeping, flooding problems, an inability to access underground utilities and possible overcrowding if other restaurants follow suit. They added: "To clarify, this objection is to the structure, not the principle of outdoor dining. Even if planning permission is granted for this application, the Highway Authority would be unable to grant a licence for it on the grounds of health and safety."

Bristol City Council's planning committee will decide whether to grant permission to Bravas at a meeting on 19 November.

Quote from: WSW Frome on Today at 15:55:22
Many of the end sections of 165/166 stock still contain the former first class sections as used in the Thames Valley. They have undergone very little modification apart from re-trimming and removal of the reading lights! A few still display first class signs.

Does Salisbury still have a engine shortage issue?

I wonder if, complementing the hourly Newquay-Falmouth service, extending the Newquay-Par trains to a couple of Newquay-Plymouth runs at peak times might prove popular, particularly in summer.

Volunteers said the closure of the David Clarke Model Railway was "deeply flawed", while charity trustees said they had not taken the decision "lightly"

Volunteers who care for a 40ft-long (12.2m) model railway have said they are devastated and bewildered at plans to close the attraction.

The David Clarke Model Railway - a replica of the signalling practices of the Great Western Railway from the 1930s - has been in operation at Ulverscroft Grange, near Markfield in Leicestershire, since 2000.

Trustees from the Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation (SCF) announced the decision to shut the railway at the beginning of October - citing increased employment and energy costs - and said finding a new home for it "is a priority".

It is set to close to the public on 19 December - but a petition is calling for the plans to be withdrawn.


Three signalmen control the signals and each driver drives their train around the layout observing the signals

The 20-ft wide (6.1m) railway was a passion project for the foundation's founder David Clarke, whose uncle was a signaller on the real-world railway.

It is a recreation of the signalling practices of the Great Western Railway from the 1930s, where controllers operate from a signal box as if they were driving an actual locomotive around the layout. The railway is unique in how it is controlled. It was operated by radio when it was first built in the 1970s but is now also wi-fi controlled.

Alan Godber, a representative of the volunteers who run and maintain the railway, said the model weighed close to eight tonnes and would need to be chopped up to be removed. He called the proposed closure a "bewildering" and "deeply flawed" decision and said fellow volunteers were devastated by the decision. "David's founding mission, continued by the charity, is to support the elderly and young through activities supporting their wellbeing," he said.

"We bring together young and old to talk and share interests which enriches their lives. Closing the railway is the ultimate snub to David's memory, even though it was he who established the charity in the first place."


The fourth wall of the building was added after the railway was moved inside due to its size

The railway is open during the day on Wednesdays and Fridays and has operated at a "neutral cost" to the foundation because of donations of visitors, Mr Godber said. However, the trustees said the railway was "running at a loss and not at a neutral cost."

"The facility would allow us to expand our ever growing and successful retail business, whilst at the same time improving other facilities at the grange," a statement said. They added that they would assist volunteers to help "preserve David Clarke's legacy".

Trustees of SCF said the adapted barn that houses the railway needed repairs that were "extensive". It said on its website: "Whilst acknowledging that it will upset and disappoint many of you, and particularly the volunteers whose time and commitment has made it such a feature, economic reality affects us all."

"Increased costs of employment, energy and maintenance mean that the foundation must look towards increasing revenue to maintain and extend its services in the areas of well-being and education, which is the heart and soul of the foundation."

Many of the end sections of 165/166 stock still contain the former first class sections as used in the Thames Valley. They have undergone very little modification apart from re-trimming and removal of the reading lights! A few still display first class signs.

150232 is on it's way from Wolverton to Exeter depot. Don't know if it is the one that's been missing for sometime and this will bring up the full compliment of twenty 150s

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K47122/2025-11-11/detailed#allox_id=0

Cancellations to services between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple
 
Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple the line is closed.

Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 02:00 17/11.

Maybe this conversation should be moved to the Problems with IET Trains thread https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=24934.0

UID P09526, identity 2M26. TSC 25485001
13:14 Swindon to Westbury

This service is cancelled.
This service was cancelled due to a points failure (IB).

Good for any journey whose ticket has not yet been bought. It will be cheaper.