Western Morning News, 1st July 2003

Beach development goes right against grain

Your correspondent (WMN, June 7) dubbed the proposed Crinnis Beach development as being "Costa del Carlyon" but the process of the planning committee within Restormel Borough Council begs the answer to an awful lot of questions.

These processes have been the subject of serious inquiry recently and, this notwithstanding, yet another highly questionable approval is voted through. Why is it that the members almost unanimously ignored the strong recommendations of both the Environment Agency, the county council and indeed their own chairman not to proceed until serious questions had been answered?

Only a few weeks ago, a decision for refusal of a substantial conference centre (the Asterisk plan) sited near

the A30 was upheld in a planning appeal. What were the main grounds for refusal? Traffic.

Yet the "Costa del Carlyon" plan will increase traffic on an admittedly already saturated A390 by at least 25 per cent.

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 yet tourism depends upon the natural beauty of Cornwall.

Just how has yet another planning nightmare been foisted on to a hard-pressed borough?

Peter Browning

St Austell