CBW News

Public Access to Beach Foreshore Guaranteed in law

April 2008: A group of campaigning local walkers has been successful in its efforts to press Cornwall County Council to register several popular footpaths approaching the foreshore at Carlyon Bay.

For the information of locals and regular visitors who may know them, the footpaths in question include: the path leading from the clifftop, down over Fishing Point to Polgaver Beach; the route on foot down Beach Road to the development site; and lastly, the track across the front of the old Coliseum building. Put together, the granting of these three paths adds up to a rubber stamp on legally defined, unrestricted public access to the beach foreshore, in perpetuity.

'I'm delighted at the results,' says one of the footpath registrants, Mrs Gloria Price, 'because this means that the public rights of way that have existed for decades have now been permanently enshrined in the law. The difference this will make is that the public will now have their rights recorded on the definitive map and these rights can be exercised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.'

Ensuring that people would always be able to reach the foreshore is crucial in an area like St Austell Bay where access to several of the local beach amenities are in private ownership. The Beach development company has repeatedly stated that it had every intention of allowing public access, but until this recent County Council ruling, the option of closing or restricting public access still existed as a technicality and therefore as a possible future threat.

According to Mrs Price, the footpaths victory means that, 'access cannot be subject to the �goodwill� of the landowner or limited by any �restrictions� placed on it such as storm warnings or health and safety signs. Ramblers and casual walkers alike are now looking forward to the day when the developer must comply with these decisions and remove the physical barriers that now block these established-in-law rights of way.'

It is considered likely, by a spokesperson from Cornwall County Council, that the developer will appeal against these paths.

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Sick of the sight of it?

Have your say. Come along to the open meeting at the Council Chamber at Restormel Borough Council Offices, Penwinnick Road, St Austell, at 5pm on Tuesday 11th September.

The unsightly pile of rock and metal shuttering has been disfiguring the beaches of Carlyon Bay for over three years - the whole construction was never authorised.

The Council's Development Control Committee is to decide whether or not to order the developers to remove the ugly mess.

Please come along to the public meeting. Be there and show that you care.

Beach Developer tries appeal tactic

July 30th 2007: The statutory six week reflection period following the Public Inquiry decision - to refuse planning permission for a new sea wall at Carlyon Bay - ended today. Unsurprisingly, Ampersand announced their intention to lodge an appeal.

According to the BBC web site, 'Ampersand claims [the Secretary of State's decision] was an "irrational" decision.

It believes it has a strong case because the reason, that the application did not fit in with policy, was not good enough.

Ampersand said its revised scheme is safer than the original plan which it does have permission for."

Given that appeals against Public Inquiries are costly, time consuming, strongly discouraged and usually unsuccessful, and given also that the original consent is believed to be unviable, it remains to be seen what could be gained from lodging such an appeal. CBW have some views on that. Planning battles are a war of attrition. Stalling for time is gameplay. It is tactical, whatever the outcome of the appeal. Here is why;

The partially constructed sea wall which is on the beach now has no planning permission. Restormel Borough Council should, therefore, enforce its removal. But if enough time goes by, during which the council are bluffed into declining to take the necessary enforcement action against it, this unauthorised structure may become 'time barred' - it will be left to exist by default.

What then? Not only will this leave the rusting steel sheeting and obstructive rock masses blighting St Austell's principle beach, we believe it will give the developer purchase on their next move. The Sea Wall will become a 'de facto' structure, a costly and irksome burden on local tax payers.

It brings to mind the well known planning nightmare, the creation, by default, of a so-called 'ransom strip'.

'CBW support an environmentally and ecologically sustainable development, restricted to the �footprint� of the original Coliseum site (i.e. specifically excluding Shorthorn and Polgaver) and reflecting the very best current Planning Guidance, whilst fully restoring public access and amenity.'

Carlyon Bay Sea Wall Refused

June 2007: The Secretary of State announced the decision on the Ampersand proposals for a new sea wall at Carlyon Bay; permission to build it has been refused.

Following lengthy consideration of all the evidence presented at the Public Inquiry, held in December 2006, it has been decided that the plans for a new sea wall and beach re-charge contravene three key areas of current Government policy; Delivering Sustainable Development, Transport and Coastal Planning.

CarlyonBayWatch, one of the groups objecting to the proposals, are delighted with the news.

At the Public Inquiry, Cornwall County Council were instrumental in attacking the errors, contradictions and anomalies in the Applicant�s case, the Environment agency attacked the principle of building a sea wall partly into the tidal zone, and the witnesses for CarlyonBayWatch brought forward expert, fact-based evidence and objections.

Roy Bennett, Chairman of CarlyonBayWatch, says,

"We believe that only those with a financial interest in the development really believe that the so-called extant consent for 511 apartments - granted 17 years ago in 1990 - is either sustainable or safe. Recognition of the effects of global warming has changed the basis of the whole scheme in that time. It is our hope that the outcome of the Public Inquiry will draw a line, once and for all, on plans for a development of such scale and impact on this beautiful stretch of Cornish coastline."

Restormel Borough Council stated during the Public Inquiry that there was a risk to life and property if the original sea wall design was relied upon to defend the development. It also became apparent that the Developer was made aware in 2003 of the danger within the original design.

Mr Bennett adds,

"This judgement is a victory for common sense. CarlyonBayWatch volunteers have put tremendous time and effort into a hard fought campaign over the last five years to raise the public profile of the problems hanging over this development. It seems that the voice of the community has finally been heard."

CarlyonBayWatch continues to support a proportionate, environmentally sensitive and safe development on Crinnis Beach, but one restricted to the old brownfield site which preserves the splendid panorama of cliffs and beaches at the head of St. Austell Bay.

The group, its supporters and the people of Restormel will now be looking to Restormel Borough Council to ensure that the damage done at Carlyon Bay is reversed as soon as possible and that the beaches are restored as a time-honoured resource for locals and visitors alike to use for leisure and recreation.

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'New Development Should Not be Built'

So says St Austell MP Matthew Taylor in response to film footage, taken during storms, showing the temporary sea defences at Carlyon Bay being swept away.

Controversial plans for the Ampersand new sea defences were the subject of a Public Inquiry which concluded in December 2006. Restormel Borough Council supported the application, but Cornwall County Council, the Environment Agency and CBW made a strong case in opposition. The government had decided the inquiry was necessary based on evidence from oceanographers and coastal management experts, environmental organisations, wildlife bodies and representations from locals and the wider public.

Matthew Taylor has now added his comments to the chorus urging caution over the Carlyon Bay site and recently told the 'St Austell Voice' that, 'the awesome power of the sea could overwhelm many communities in Cornwall...due to rising sea levels and worsening storms.'

Ampersand have been widely reported stating they will go ahead with plans to build 511 apartments regardless of whether the sea wall plans are approved by Ian McPherson, the Government planning inspector, or not. They claim that a lesser sea wall, for which they have 'extant' planning permission, already gives them permission to build.

Potential investors in coastal developments may not be so easily convinced by such bullishness if they stop to consider Matthew Taylor's other comments regarding Carlyon Bay, however. He went on to say that, 'insurance companies are raising bills and refusing cover for the most threatened homes and businesses.'

It is expected that the decision on the revised sea wall plans will be announced in early summer 2007.

Costa Del Britain exposed

On September 3rd 2006 'The Independent' ran a piece entitled 'Costa Del Britain: Cornwall's Changing Coastline', outlining how the Beach project has been mired in acrimony since its' inception. See 'The Independent' article here