General Discussion
Burneside . I'm genuinely open-minded about the pros and cons of the railway. Could you explain how Dawlish has prospered in recent years? Fourteen years ago I thought Dawlish, being on the mainline into London, was in a prime location and a dead cert to prosper, but in the intervening years I've seen no evidence of this. If anything I'd say it's declined. The world has moved on ...
I interpret that as looking to land a few easy punches on the Environment Agency because it's already on the ropes. The report says it happened before the storms and before it was an emergency. We all know wildlife surveys are part of the decision making process - as they should be (see the other post about Meadow Park). It'd be different if they were holding it up now.
Yes, all those millions of holidaymakers ARE enthralled when the train swings past Langstone Rock. I was one of them - on my way to Cornwall. What proportion of them get off the train and put money into the Dawlish economy? I was so taken by the view that I came to visit and ended up living here. For the rest that merely swing by, maybe we should have a toll booth on the track.
Thanks Wondering So if they improve sea defences by building a sea wall out to sea, thereby enabling us to have a marina AND keep the railway line for steam trains etc, we'll be in a different league. We might even see house prices resembling Dartmouth's! Shame my three score years and ten will have expired by the time they get round to it!
I'm not making a case either way, I just think this is an opportunity to re-think things. Imagine how Dawlish could look if that ugly rusty zip wasn't in front of Marine Parade. A wide open promenade opening on to the beach would surely do more for the town than the railway siding it currently resembles. (And I suspect it wouldn't flood if the waves could flow back into the sea instead of being ...
We need sea defences one way or the other but do we need the intercity trains ploughing through? Wouldn't Dawlish draw more tourists if it was a branch line interspersed with steam trains running between Exeter and Newton Abbot in the summer? Granted both may not be feasible but this area is so well loved by train enthusiasts that I wonder if a private railway would emerge and the town might end ...
I too believe creating sea defences that enabled Dawlish to develop a harbour/marina of some sort would be a massive boost to the town. Whether that is possible I don't know, but now is the time for some big thinking. And sorry for asking about what everyone seems to hold as fact, but why is it that if the railway wasn't there, the sea wall wouldn't be maintained? Isn't Network Rail a ...
It might not count for much when people homes are at stake right now, but if Dawlish ends up with a concrete monstrosity of a seawall, that really will be the end of the town. Seeing those TV pictures with the godawful viaduct and station in the background drags the town down as it is. We need adequate sea defences but we also need to preserve what makes Dawlish special.
Nice one!
Maybe everyone's busy trying to make the statistics support their argument
