About Carlyon Bay Information
CBI is trying to preserve and extend the archive of information developed by members of the protest group CBW.
About Carlyon Bay Watch
^ Background
In 2002 development company Ampersand acquired the old Cornwall Coliseum and announced plans in the local press to develop the site into a huge leisure and holiday complex, which is where it all began. During a public meeting called to reassure concerned local residents, Mark Frazer, Vice-chairman of one of the local residents associations, and chairman of CBW at that time, issued a challenge to Ampersand to meet with local members of the community. The public relations advantages to the developer were clear and it was arranged that a Focus Group would be held.
Several interested locals came forward but it was soon recognised that as well as meeting with the developer on a regular basis, they needed a separate forum to air the issues. CarlyonBayWatch was formed as an umbrella group for the various residents associations in the area who wanted to protect the interests of local people. The number of people grew quickly as other interested men and women wanted to be involved. Initially members came with an open mind in fact at the first meeting the group did a SWOT analysis to decide whether the development held any perceived advantages for the community - but it became apparent that for the vast majority it did not. Early on, to gauge local feeling and to establish an informal mandate for action and support, CBW organised a doorstop campaign with a petition calling for a public enquiry into the proposals. 929 signatures were gathered over 800 from the Carlyon Bay area a high proportion of local households. As the implications of the development became clear, CBW hardened into a single issue pressure group committed to opposing the Ampersand project.
The core membership all bring to the group an area of expertise from local knowledge, which has been vital, through to Geological experience, media and marketing expertise to an understanding of planning laws and consents and local government protocols. We are fortunate that our area seems to have a high concentration of public and private sector professionals and business people who feel civic commitment to the locale, to the wider environment and to the future of Cornwall generally.
No-one was actively recruited, but as the campaign grew roles evolved - there are those who are happy and able to stand in front of the cameras and microphones for the TV and Radio attention as well as members who are motivated to work more behind the scenes. Everyone is needed and their input valued.
^ Achievements
Behind the scenes a relentless campaign of letter writing was in progress to all the organisations likely to be affected by or to have interest in the Beach development; statutory consultees, the local council, the Ombudsman, the Advertising Standards Authority, our local MP, local papers. It has all had an effect. But the public face of the campaign was an attempt to try to draw wider attention to what was happening in this supposedly quiet backwater. The breakthrough came when we finally snagged the interest of the national media. In July 2003 a small group of us took a minibus to Plymouth to present the petition of 929 signatures calling for a public enquiry to the Government Office South West.
This event really began the campaign in earnest as it attracted the attention of the pundits and some national publications caught wind of events in Cornwall. To date we have had excellent media cover - local and national press and regional and national TV including The Guardian, Breakfast Television, Spotlight, BBC National News and "You and Yours" Radio 4. Things were probably helped by timing in that this was summer and meant the issues would interest the readers and viewers "up country" because it was about a picturesque tourist destination at a topical time.
Bolstered by the tremendous local support behind the petition that summer, we organised an Information and Awareness Day in November 2003. This entailed an exhibition of some of the cautionary information we had uncovered during the campaign to date and it was given credibility by a panel of local experts with bearing on the case who were invited to an open debate on the issues that evening. Again, it was keenly supported.
Our achievements in the campaign can be traced back to keeping up the momentum. When the developer closed the public access road to the beach in January 2004 it caused a great deal of local concern. We capitalised on this and In February organised a demonstration, planning to exercise our right to access and convene on the beach. This drew on the twin prongs of local opposition to the development and media interest in a good spectacle. We organised a piper to head the column and, in spite of the weather, had a rousing turnout of over 350 supporters and plenty of journalists. The profile of the CBW point of view was being raised.
We began experiencing success on four key fronts - in pushing for the Public Enquiry - in arguing for access - in challenging the Ampersand PR ( with our own steady stream of press releases ) and in monitoring, taking feedback and reporting back on the impact of the build on wildlife, traffic, civil helicopter noise, and general infrastructure issues.
It all adds up. We encouraged everyone with interest in exploring the ramifications of the development plans to write to John Prescotts office. After initially saying that it was not needed, in August 2004 GOSW finally called a Public Enquiry. Although we have no confirmation of it, it felt as if all the attention and letters had affected this change of opinion. The developer has subsequently sidestepped the scrutiny of an enquiry by withdrawing its two add on planning applications the inquiry was to investigate, but we still regard this as a success.
The background research members have put in has also been vital. One member tracked down a piece of legislation designed to protect areas like our beach and submitted an application to register part of Carlyon Bay Beach as a Village Green. CBW members helped collect the evidence statements and they amounted to 63% of the households in the catchment of the Village Green which is a first for an application of this kind. Owing to the care and thoroughness with which the case was prepared, it was decided that this too, merited a public enquiry. Unfortunately the case was deemed not made. This was a disappointment to very many local people and visitors who had contributed but we soon realised that the louder voice is the regional and national one. The wider issue is that of long term coastal management.
CBW is concentrating on calling for the proper scrutiny of a full public enquiry to be applied to the whole build. In conjunction with a team of qualified and experienced consultants, we have been considering the implications of the new Sea Wall on the whole of the coastal area. Based on our research and article after article in the national press warning about global warming we believe this project should never be built. That is now the focus of the campaign.
All the research on this and the other issues was collected together and formed the backbone of our web site which was launched in September 2003. We set out to make it factual and objective in tone, to create a resource. It has been another invaluable tool in the campaign. Not only has email allowed us to spread information, conduct research and communicate with each other and the media quickly and easily, but the web site has drawn more support. It had 30,000 hits in the first 3 months and over 90,000 to date. We have had support emails from all over UK and made contact with other environmentally motivated campaigns across the country. It also allows the media complete access to our point of view. We hope this means we are fairly represented.
^ Main Challenges
The main challenges of a campaign like this are several. Firstly, is the long-haul nature of it. Planning law is complex and arcane and developers work to long timescales. CBW has been active since 2002 and the end is not yet in sight - it is a challenge to keep everyone on board and committed. Secondly, we face the age old political battle for 'hearts and minds'. We try to put accurate information in the public domain to raise awareness among local people and those influential opinion formers and decision makers, of the serious long term implications of this project, but we are fighting an uphill battle against the developers resources. They have a huge PR budget. We don't. Finally, we are up against the nature of local government. It has become a known given in Coastal Management circles, discussed at the recent Coastal Futures 2005 conference at London University, that developments of this size and impact are simply of too great a magnitude to be left to local decision makers. Legislation is in the pipeline to change that, but, in the meantime, the importance of taking the focus wider than local issues is the scrutiny of a full public inquiry is needed.
^ Motto for other campaigners
Research, be thorough, use the law, use the media, use democratic process, write, publish, be a nuisance, raise a stink, but above all you must have a passion for your cause, stand up and be counted.
Published in 'Green Places' Magazine Issue 13 March 2005
^ Funding
We are a not for profit company funded by donations and raffles. Members contribute in their own way by not reclaiming expenses for things like telephone calls, stamps, stationery, photocopying and travelling expenses. One member, a successful local businessman, donated office space and a phone line which made regular meetings possible as well as providing the vital admin backup to field media inquiries. The web site, for example, was constructed with the free services of a local professional design partnership. Others outside the core group contribute time by helping to deliver regular newsletters and these in turn bring in more donations. In this way our costs and expenses have been extremely light.