It is with much pleasure, EA can confirm that on Tuesday 3 November 2020 we became the owners of the former Bratton Fleming Station, thus securing it for future railway use.
We should like to express our deep gratitude to the several hundred supporters of the L&B who so generously donated to the appeal to buy the station. There are many who gave through the crowd-funding website JustGiving for whom we have no contact details, many again who made donations directly to Exmoor Associates – those who provided interest-free loans – and of course, those who bought the £500 slots to become a Friend of Bratton; without your help, the station could have slipped through our fingers until goodness knows when it came up for sale again.
In the short-term, the station is going be leased out which will: – a) provide security by having someone living on site, b) cover its running costs and c) maybe even generate a surplus to put towards the railway’s reinstatement.
As the station is going to be someone’s home, we would ask that their privacy is respected; however, they have agreed that all Friends of Bratton will be invited to open-days at the station (once this COVID crisis is hopefully a thing of the past) when they will be able to visit and inspect what they have helped to buy.
Thank you all again.
David Cameron – Co-director
17 thoughts on “Bratton Fleming Station is ours!”
Wonderful news, many thanks to all those involved.
Many congratulations to David and all the team who have made this possible, a major achievment, well done. Also, I am so please that all the members
of the ‘Friends Of Bratton Station’ have voted for a long term let of the property. I only contributed a small amount via ‘Just Giving’ but, had I had voting rights, this the option I would have gone with.
Great news. I’m so happy to be a part of this and be a member of the Friends of Bratton Station.
Hi David,
Keith and Lyn Davis here! Congratulations! Well done. More of our heritage rescued. Xx
Thank you for your good wishes, guys. Here’s looking at the next bit of trackbed purchase!! David
Well, done everyone, we did it!! Thank you, David, for organising the ‘Just Giving’ page for those of us who couldn’t stretch to the Friend threshold! Wonderful to see that the additional costs will be covered. All the best to the former occupants in their new home.
It is actually Prof. Martin Ball who is to be thanked for setting up the JustGiving page, having come up with the idea. I am very grateful to him – as am I to the hundreds of L&B supporters who made donations this way. David
Great News !!!!
I am so delighted that we have secured the station for the future extension of the railway. Well done exmoor associates a marvellous achievement. I would love to see it when these crazy times are over, but at least it’s now secure.
Great news.
We will get there in time.
Another milestone crossed.
Nice one EA!
Congratulations, delighted to hear the news. I’m sure this is a pivotal achievement for the future of the L&B. And I support the idea of renting it out in the near term, this provides the best return on the investment for the moment, time enough to consider the long-term future when redecoration/modernisation is (no doubt) required in the years to come.
Let’s not rest on our laurels! Please feel motivated to purchase (further?) shares in Exmoor Associates ready to buy more trackbed when the opportunity arises. And don’t forget the Snapper Track Fund! Well done David and everyone who contributed to the Bratton Fleming achievement.
I’m delighted to have helped by becoming a Friend of Bratton Station and think it’s a very nice gesture that we’ll be able to come and have a look round when normality returns. Congratulations to David and all concerned.
As Spike Milligan might say, “I’m glad I had a very small part in your victory” (if he were still knocking around).
So apart from funding rails at Snapper, http://www.exmoor-associates.co.uk/2019/05/snapper-halt-track-panels/ is there any other project on the near horizon that might need funding?
I’d imagine like many, I support a few Heritage projects – so it’s very often the case of funding going where there is the most potential gain/need.
And thanks to the people who are renting it who, I believe, are friends & fans of the L&B.
It is good to know they will be excellent caretakers
What super news. Congratulations David on all your hard work.
I donated £500.00 back in the Summer of ’20 but didn’t realise that, to you, we remained anonymous if the donations were via ‘Just Giving’. I’m not a member of the L & B, so until recently, had no idea about the ‘Friends on Bratton Fleming’. If I am correct about this, I wonder if you could enlighten me more as I believe one can visit the station (when this ghastly virus goes!). All in all, a magnificent effort by everyone concerned anyway.
Thank you very much for your very generous donation, David. The majority of donations made via the JustGiving site were indeed anonymous – some donors used pseudonyms (my guess is that ‘I K Brunel’, ‘North Devonian’ and ‘Capt James T Kirk’ may well not be their real names??) – but others appeared to use their correct names; however, there appears to be no means by which I can send messages to JG donors? – or if there is, I haven’t found it!. The station is now being let out (to a railway supporter, as his main home) to cover its costs. It is hoped that there will be some ‘Open Days’ when donors may inspect what they have helped secure – once this COVID-19 is history. David Cameron
Great news about Bratton Fleming … good on those who made it possible.