Barnstaple M5 motorway. Because Barnstaple is the main shopping area for North Devon, retail work is a contributor to the economy. There are many generic chain stores in the town centre and in the Roundswell Business Park, on the western fringe of the town. Tesco has several stores in the area, which includes a Tesco Extra hypermarket, a large Tesco superstore. There is also a Sainsbury's superstore, a Lidl supermarket. And, the multi-million pound redevelopment of the former Leaderflush Shapland works at Anchorwood Bank, and the surrounding area, is creating a conservation area near the River Taw, hundreds of new homes,
Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust negotiations, was purchased by the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company on behalf of the "Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Association". Following further negotiations and purchase of other parts of the trackbed, Woody Bay is now the centre of operations for the restoration project. The former station at Chelfham is now also owned by the Railway Company. The Association was absorbed into The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust which was first registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 22 September 2000. The Trust has to date received only a small amount of grant funding, the vast majority of income