The Factsheet

This is the fact sheet which concerned residents took door to door in June/July to gauge feeling in the local area.

Crinnis Beach DEVELOPMENT FACTSHEET as at 15.6.03

  • Nearly everybody wants something done about the beach, but this proposal will approximately double the population of Carlyon Bay.
  • Whatever we lose as a result of this proposal will be lost forever, and yet tourism relies upon the natural beauty and unique character of Cornwall.
  • The Cornwall Wildlife Trust have objected to the absence of an environmental impact assessment.
  • The Environment Agency have stated that Planning Consent should not be granted until a flood risk assessment has been done and approved.
  • The vital sea wall and geological site condition questions are presently unanswered.
  • The environmental future of Crinnis Beach can only be drastically different as a result of the proposed development.
  • The County Council refused permission in June 1973, largely on both environmental and traffic grounds.
  • The Restormel Local Plan of 1982 specifically stated that access to Crinnis Beach "does cause concern".
  • Since Restormel Borough Council granted permission in 1989, other major developments locally have happened (e.g. Crinnis Wood, Par Market) and others are in the pipeline (e.g. the Motor Museum and Par Docks improvement).
  • Since 1989 when consent was first granted, car usage has increased by 29%. and no account has been taken of forecast vehicle increases (50% extra traffic by 2020).
  • Cornwall County Council have stated that the proposed development is a "major departure from the County Development Plan".
  • Cornwall County Council have further stated that the proposed development is "in conflict with the County Structure Plan".
  • The promised terms for retention of (and the route of) public access to beach are not yet established.
  • The Traffic Consultants for the developer have admitted that the Holmbush A390 traffic is "saturated" and yet have not contested an estimate of 5,500 extra traffic movements daily from this development.
  • Beach Road, Cypress Avenue and Church Road must together totally bear the brunt of this massively increased traffic and are facing gridlock.
  • Haddon, Chatsworth and Fairway will become "rat runs", and residents' access to their homes, even in cul-de sacs such as Crinnis Wood, must be restricted by the weight of traffic movement and the nuisance of further "traffic calming measures".
  • No special provisions have been proposed in respect of safe and easy access to either the Charlestown School or for funerals at the cemetery, despite the intense traffic increase proposed.
  • The Area Health Authority is already operating at far above its proper capacity and has no provision for an increased workload.
  • The £8 millions cost of the Saltash Tunnel repair has fallen upon the tax-payer only twelve years after it was opened. There are presently no guarantees about the cost of repair to the Sea Wall.
  • All of these issues can only be properly examined and safeguarded in a full public enquiry.

    • Our petition was accompanied by strong support from English Nature, Friends of the Earth and Charlestown School.