Campaign continues in 2010
1/1/10The rejection of plans to build on Battery Rocks beach by the Strategic Planning Committee on December 14th was a nice way to end the year and is of course a cause for celebration, but two important tasks remain for the new year.
The first is to make absolutely sure that Option A and building on Battery Rocks beach is not resurrected at some future point. This may seem unlikely but noises coming from County Hall suggest that the political leadership there have not entirely given up on the idea. There is talk of persuading English Heritage to change their advice, of amending the Council’s constitution so that the 10 member Cabinet can overturn the planning committee’s decision, and of quashing the planning decision on procedural grounds. All of these look like long-shots but Graeme Hicks and the officers involved have a lot to lose if the scheme they have spent nearly £5m of tax payer’s money on does not go ahead so we must assume they will fully explore all possibilities.
And unfortunately the democratic decision of the Strategic Planning Committee has not been accepted by everyone locally. The response of the Chairman of the Penzance Chamber of Commerce was: “So far as we and the Penzance & District Tourism Association are concerned we have not lost. We fully intend to get the Planning Committee’s decision over-turned by the end of January!”
The second task is to help find an alternative way forward for the Scilly Link and Penzance Harbour. We wholeheartedly support The Cornishman’s campaign to keep the link in Penzance but the truth of the matter is that Falmouth is not an option at all. Talk of moving the Link to Falmouth flies in the face of logic and commercial good sense. No amount of studies or investigations by the Route Partnership will move Falmouth an inch closer to the Scillies and every extra mile beyond Penzance represents higher costs and reduced revenues, with Islanders ultimately paying the price. No sustainable, affordable link could operate from Falmouth. Current funding is not available for Falmouth and future funding will not be possible without a strong “business case”, and that case cannot be made as long as there is any chance that a private operator will set up in competition from Penzance.
We have to make sure that Penzance Harbour is protected and enhanced in a manner that is good both for the town and for the link with the Scillies. To do this properly will require the involvement of the communities at both ends of the link, but it is essential that there is broad local involvement in deciding what happens next in Penzance. The Town Council, local Cornwall councillors and community groups must assert their right to play a part in the formulation of new plans. We will be encouraging them to do this and to start a process of consultation themselves, rather than waiting for another ill-conceived scheme from County Hall. Since the choice of vessel has profound implications for the necessary harbour arrangements that too must be a part of any review of options.
While considerable progress has been made in 2009, there are still letters to be written, meetings to be attended and a big noise to be made in 2010 if we are to secure a sane and genuinely sustainable approach to the Scilly Link in Penzance.