Current News

22/01/2005

On Saturday 22nd January the official decision on the Carlyon Bay Village Green application was made known. Mrs Gloria Price received the full fifty page report detailing why the case was not successfully made. Primarily, it failed on the owners use of the site in relation to the festivals, firework displays, fun days and signage. It is a great shame, but we knew in the end the decision would be decided upon legal technicalities.

However, we should remember that whilst access and usage continue to be important issues, they are only two of the many problems surrounding this massive development. The developer has submitted plans for the new Sea Wall and proposals for the beach recharge. CBW will be calling for proper scrutiny to be applied to them. With doubts about the location and nature of the development works done to date, unresolved issues about the line of the sea wall, expert warnings about protecting the borough from unsustainable future maintenance costs, there is strong focus for the 2005 campaign.

Coastal Futures 2005

At an influential 2 day conference at London University (Jan 19th-20th) Carlyon Bay beaches were cited as a specific example of bad practice in coastal management. Over 300 delegates saw images of the destruction at Carlyon Bay and heard it condemned in the harshest terms. Dr Bob Earl, organizer of the event stated that developers who build near the coastline are creating a time bomb of unsustainable future potential costs and liabilities. Conference warned residents and local authorities in those areas to understand the ways in which they may have to pick up this bill.

These potential liabilities are the real concern. The spectre of compensation claims and clean-up costs have hung over this disastrous extant planning permission since it was first granted in 1989. The Village Green decision may represent a minor set back to our campaign, but the louder voice is the regional and national one. Read the Western Morning News article here and CBW Press Release here

Newsletter

Restormel Borough Council's Development control committee decline to take enforcement action against unauthorised development on the Carlyon Bay Beaches.

Our topical Christmas Quiz

Access rights to the beaches - namely the discovery that Title Deeds and Land Registry certificates relating to local properties contain 'a like right at all times and for all purposes to pass and re-pass over and along all roads and parts of roads and footpaths as now existing or as subsequently widened on the (old Carlyon) Estate"

The Beach and the Cornish Economy. Jobs? Maybe, but what jobs?

You may need Acrobat reader, which is available free for all platforms here:

14/11/2004

Around midday of Friday 12th November Mr Chapman, QC, who had presided over the presentation of arguments and evidence, called the Village Green Public Enquiry closed. After a stirring and calmly impassioned closing statement, Mr Price, defending the application on behalf of his wife, was roundly congratulated by all parties. Representatives of Cornwall County Council, who had been in attendance all week, warmly shook hands with Mr and Mrs Price as members of the public, some of whom had made the effort to attend the Inquiry every day, came up to thank them for their tremendous efforts. Monday and Tuesday had seen Mrs Price defend her application to register the beaches as a Village Green by withstanding five hours of aggressive court-style cross examination by Mr Village, QC, acting for Ampersand.

On Wednesday morning Mr Chapman paid a site visit and explored the footpaths and proposed Village Green area accompanied by representatives from both sides. That afternoon witnesses for the applicant continued to give their evidence undaunted by the treatment Mrs Price had received. It was then the turn of Ampersands witnesses to set out their evidence for objecting to the registration of the Village Green. A break on Thursday gave both sides an opportunity to prepare their closing arguments and the Enquiry re-convened on Friday morning. Those gathered listened to Mr Village recite his objections for 2 hours, followed by 45 minutes of Mr Prices closing argument. He described how witness statements showed "a sense of outrage, a sense of disbelief, a sense of sadness and a sense loss" and added, "This application is not about being an obstruction to progress, nor an obstruction to the development. What this application is about is the heart of a local community."

CBW can only echo those sentiments and add our thanks to all those in that community who attended and gave their support. Everyone supporting the application can be proud that they have done their best to help save the beaches - we can do no more - it is now up to Mr Chapman and the law. Certainly the outcome will not be influenced by any of the sensationalist advertorial nonsense which has appeared in the press.

It is unlikely that any decision will be announced immediately, so, for the forseeable future, possibly even into the New Year, we will just have to sit and wait. Just like Ampersand.

20/10/2004

The Enquiry into our local beach being registered as a Town or Village Green is to be held at St Blazey Football Club, Station Road, St Blazey, week commencing Monday 8th November 2004.

This is our opportunity to present our case and is being supported by many witnesses.

The enquiry will commence at 10:00 am and finish at 5:00pm each day except on the first Monday when there is time set aside in the evening: - 6:00pm to 8:00pm to allow witnesses, who cannot attend during the day, to give their evidence.

It is the culmination of a great deal of hard work in the campaign to save the beaches and the start of an important process which will have serious implications for the future of the development proposals. Everyone will be given an opportunity to "state their case" and the specially qualified Inspector will then make his or her recommendation to Cornwall County Councils Panel for final ratification. We expect that this will happen early in the New Year and are confident that precedents in case law will play out to a just conclusion.

We would urge anyone who feels strongly, as we do, to come along to the Enquiry to lend support. We look forward to seeing you there.

Other recent developments

Circular Walk Kept Open by local ramblers

On 14th October a keen group of local walkers maintained a time honoured local tradition of completing the circular walk along the beaches at Carlyon Bay. After successfully exercising the legal right to pass through the Ampersand barrier, they progressed down through the top of the construction site access road to join the South West Coast path above the old Coliseum. The aim was partly to investigate reports that the route was becoming impassable owing to sand scour at the eastern end and see if the signs warning against the risks of being trapped by the sea by the metal piling at certain times were a valid concern. The walk has been enjoyed as a right by locals for decades in living memory but since the closure of the main access route in January last year and the addition of the metal piling along most of the length of the beaches, little foreshore remains to walkers and beach goers except at low tide. Although the drop at beach level is probably only for the more intrepid walker, everyone enjoyed the walk and the group plan to make it a regular event.

Media Interest

With the announcement of the two public enquiries this summer, our campaign drew a flurry of attention from the local and national media. Here are some of the highlights....

Christopher Middleton of The Sunday Telegraph came to listen to Ampersand pitch their views on the latest events in the tale and heard our concerns.

The resulting article which appeared on 18/09/2004

'It was being sold as the perfect match for the space-age domes of the Eden Project, the haute poisson eateries of Rick Stein's Padstow, the breath of fresh, artistic sea air that is the Tate St Ives, and the horticultural romance of Heligans Lost Gardens. It was thought it might even lure the posh Rock folk to come down from North Cornwall - to look, to weigh up the social cachet - perchance to buy.

And who knows, the scheme may still rise from the sand. But for the moment at any rate, The Beach - the £200 million project that was to take three rough and ready Cornish bays and turn them into a well-groomed holiday playground for the metropolitan well-to-do - has run into stormy waters.....'

If you would like to read more elegant prose about shifting sands, stormy waters, rising from sand, vanilla cones, fish, clear coasts, broken eggs and omlettes and turning tides; visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/, register and search under 'Carlyon Bay'.

Radio 4 'You and Yours' Monday 27th September

A group of eminent panelists including Richard Harwood, a barrister specialising in environmental and planning law, discussed the implications of Village Green applications. Mrs Price, who applied to register the beaches, was given an opportunity on live national radio to explore her reasons for making the application.

Listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/ram/youandyours_20040927_2.ram

BBC Spotlight

Journalist Adrian Cambell - the BBC SouthWest Environment correspondent - produced a short item exploring some of the potential environmental effects of the development on the local area.

Fighting On the Beaches - Spaces and Places Magazine October Issue 011

Becky Volker and Martin Duffy from the Reading based magazine paid a visit to the Bay and represented the key issues in their piece for the October edition. Visit http://www.green-space.org.uk/News/sp00107.htm to find out more.

Visit this page to read the articles for yourself

Newsletter

The latest copy of the autumn CarlyonBayWatch Newsletter is available here in pdf format (157k) for you to view.
You may need Acrobat reader, which is available free for all platforms here:

Donations

The circulation of the recent newsletter brought in a startling number of donations. Many thanks to all of you who contributed.

If you would like to help, see how here.

10/09/04

Back to 1989? Developer side steps scrutiny.....but comes up against the Sea Wall - Ampersand wriggles away, scared, from public enquiry, almost like a bunch of big fairy chickens - BUT CHICKENS THAT WRIGGLE!!!

They say a week is a long time in politics... well, this summer a great deal has happened in the Carlyon Bay Beach controversy. First we had the announcement that there would be an enquiry into the Village Green application, then the announcement that the two add-on planning applications submitted by Ampersand last year would be subject to a Public Enquiry. Then we heard that the Government Office of the South West had changed their minds - after considering last year that there would be no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment on the project, they announced (and we can only assume the weight of your letters and complaints and the success we had in drawing media attention to the matter had some part to play in this - thankyou) that there would after all, need to be an Environmental Impact Assessment of the applications. As more time had gone by and more became known about the detail of this project, the tide of opinion against the development had clearly turned in favour of the objectors. Read the press articles here

Car stickers are still available for anyone interested to put in their cars or homes. Just send a stamped addressed envelope c/o 1, Wheal Northey, St.Austell, Cornwall PL25 3EF. with 'Car Sticker' written somewhere on the back and we will pop one in the post to you.

The latest twist in the unfolding events was the announcement by Ampersand on Tuesday 7/09/2004 that they were withdrawing their two add-on applications and reverting to the extant permission, ostensibly " to avoid further delays". The meeting of the Council Planning Modifications Panel on Tuesday 8th September, which was due to debate the nature of it's submission to the forthcoming (now cancelled) Public Enquiry, had to change tack. Residents still turned out in large number (thanks to all who came to show support) to demonstrate how seriously the community regards the implications of the project, but the topic for debate became 'What can Restormel do now?" Under the terms of the extant permission, it seemed, the answer was 'not a lot' - at least until the plan for the new Sea Wall is presented. But in preparation for this, Councillor Stewart gave a well informed and thorough briefing to the members of the planning committee, the majority whom had not made so much as a site visit so far and encouraged them all to do just that. We were delighted that a resolution was achieved for all the committee to pay a collective visit to the Beach site. We are confident that this will be the start for them of the journey all the CBW members have travelled - from initial open-mindedness to scepticism to disbelief that something so far-reaching and damaging could happen to such a stretch of Cornish coastline without the benefit of a full Environmental Impact Assessement. We trust they will insist on an EIA as soon as the new application appears...

12/08/04

Public Enquiry announced by GOSW

Today, in a surprise announcement, the Government Office South West (GOSW) released details to the press that a full Public Inquiry is to be held to explore the Ampersand proposals. It was over a year ago, in July 2003, that CBW submitted a petition with 929 signatures to GOSW, calling for the planned development at Carlyon Bay beaches to be explored at a full Public Inquiry. Since then, there have been local demonstrations and events echoing that call. It has been a key objective of the CBW campaign to press that the proposals, based on an extant permission from 1989, should be exposed to the full scrutiny of current environmental conditions and current legislation. Not enough is known about the future impact the project will have on the area, on the environment and on the local infrastructure - now the experts and the community will have a chance to air those concerns to due democratic process. Read all about it here.

Carlyon Bay Watch Press Release 12/08/04

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3559764.stm

25/07/2004

Good news! CBW delighted at the announcement of Village Green Enquiry this Autumn

On 19th July, Mr. & Mrs. Price, longstanding residents of Carlyon Bay, whose application for the registration of the beach as a Village Green, heard that it would be made the subject of a *non-statutory Public Enquiry to be held in the Autumn, probably in St.Austell.

This is the culmination of a great deal of hard work in the campaign to save the beaches and the start of an important process which will have serious implications for the future of the development proposals. Everyone will be given an opportunity to "state their case" and the specially qualified Inspector will then make his or her recommendation to the CCC Panel for final ratification. We expect that this will happen early in the New Year and are confident that precedents in case law will play out to a just conclusion.

See here for the latest comments reported in the media

CBW would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you who have helped to bring things to this stage for your efforts and support. Owing to the mounting costs of this campaign, however, any financial support you feel able to continue to give would be most welcome. See here for details on how you can help.

18/07/04

Carlyon Bay beachgoers face Ampersands 'iron curtain'

Whilst the planning procedures have been grinding on in the background, drastic changes have been happening on the Beach at Carlyon Bay. Locals have been horrified to see the mechanical scarring and metal eyesores which have recently appeared on what was one of south Cornwalls finest beaches. Read an impassioned note from our chairman, Mr Mark Frazer

01/05/04

A report published last week by Sir David King, the Government's Chief Scientist, highlights the folly of the proposed beach development. The report, produced by Sir David and a panel of sixty experts, makes clear that the likelihood of flooding and coastal erosion in Cornwall and similar parts of the UK has been seriously underestimated. The map indicating areas at risk clearly shows that parts of Cornwall such as St.Austell Bay are in the danger zone.

The report provides strong evidence supporting our repeated concerns about the risk of flooding at the site of the proposed Ampersand development and reinforces our alarm that that the proposed mile long sea wall at Carlyon Bay will have an adverse knock-on effect upon the Par River estuary and the St.Blazey Flood-Plain. Read the full report from the BBC at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3648391.stm

18/04/04

Art For Cornwall Event

On April 18th local and regional press gathered with over 100 protesters and spectators at the old Oak Tree above the beach for the 3rd public demonstration of protest against the Ampersand beach development plans. The Art 4 Cornwall installation event had sparked interest and controversy locally and although once again the weather was against a large turnout, those who came were keen to become involved in the spectacle. The wind break - theme installation effectively blocked pedestrian access to the beach and the crowd found themselves trapped between Ampersands chain link 'safety' fence and the new structure, unable to gain easy, free access to the sand and shore.

As the crowd stretched along the blue and white installation, we were given a flavour of the kind of restrictions any large man made structure will inevitably place on our freedoms to roam on the beach. Those gathered experienced the unpleasant sensation of being shepherded along narrow, signed, designated routes through an unnatural labyrinth, held back from the shore and only able to see the sea over the barrier, but not easily to reach it. Anyone who had visited a major man-made beach resort abroad may have taken a moment to ponder the inappropriateness of any sizeable coastal development against such a simple setting.

Many thanks to A4C for their imaginative and hard work and to all those who came on the day.

12/04/04

Art for Cornwall (A4C) Event

Sunday 18th April 11 am
in association with CarlyonBayWatch

Shortly after our march to the beach, we were approached by a group of local artists. They wished to register their own protest against the destruction of the Cornish environment and the threatened loss of access to our beach.

As a result, on April 18th, an artistic presentation involving spectacle and sound, planned in association with CarlyonBayWatch, will be taking place on the Beach at Carlyon Bay.

Anyone who cares about the heritage of Cornwall or is curious simply to see events unfold, or who wishes to become part of, or involved in, the human art-work on the day is invited. People will congregate at the Old Oak Tree crossroads on Beach road, just above the beach at 11 am on Sunday, the 18th April.

Even though the event is intended to mourn the potential loss of the beach, it should be a fun day out so bring a picnic. We very much hope to see you there.

See here for examples of A4C art work and more details about the event.

01/03/2004

The Beach Battle, Round Won...

On Saturday 28th February, despite Cornwall’s freezing weather and morning snowstorms, over 340 people turned up for the march to the beach, led by a Caledonian Piper and two standard bearers. The column extended several hundred yards between two police escort cars, attended by representatives from the local media.

The whole event passed peacefully and was deemed a resounding success. Under a bright but cold wintry sun, the column arrived at the barrier to the site and, after a brief exchange between Peter Marsh, of Jackson Civil Engineering, and Peter Browning, spokesman for CarlyonBayWatch, then moved down to its chosen meeting point on the beach at the foot of Gull Rock. Those assembled heard speeches from Mark Frazer, Chairman of CBW, Lindley Owen, of the Local Access Forum, Peter Browning and Councillor Richard Stewart. Serious questions were raised about the legitimacy of the developers recent works and calls made for enforcement action to be taken by Restormel Borough Council. One questioner wondered where our MP Matthew Taylor was on such a day. The crowd greeted these contributions with cheers and applause.

Although it was clear that everyone there was delighted to be on the beach again and rallied by the strength of community spirit shown, concern for the future of the area was the topic of conversation as the meeting broke up.

Many thanks for the fantastic turnout, all who attended.

Donations

Demonstrators donated a total of £100 towards the campaign. Once again, CBW is grateful for your support.

Media - let them eat chocolate chutzpah...

In the run up to the protest on Saturday a public relations battle was conducted in the local press, with both the Cornish Guardian and the Western Morning News giving considerable column inches to events. On the day, BBC Radio Cornwall ran an item in the early edition airing the issues, and Carlton TV later showed footage of the impressive and unexpected numbers at the demonstration. (The key articles will be up on the 'In the Press' pages soon)

19/02/2004

Access to Cornish beach blocked

Local residents and pressure groups to protest

12 noon 28th February 2004 from the parade of shops, Beach Road, Carlyon Bay, St Austell

Since 12th January 2004 access to the beach at Carlyon Bay, which has been used as of right for leisure purposes by the community for over 20 years, has been blocked to vehicular and pedestrian access.

Local resentment has been growing (see here for recent published letter on the subject) since the development plans were announced last year and this has now culminated in a planned demonstration which will proceed along Beach road from the parade of local shops to the site on Februrary 28th 2004.

Members of CBW will be there, along with others from pressure groups, environmental and civic organisations concerned about this and other coastal development controversies at Falmouth, Porthmeor, Newquay and Bude.

Many beautiful Cornish beaches are privately owned. Once gone, they will be gone forever. So if you feel as we do, concerned for the future of this beach and others like it, we would encourage you to come and lend your support on the day. We are hoping for a large peaceful crowd.

27/01/2004

Village Green - help!

If you have lived in the Carlyon Bay area at any time between 1983 and 2004 and spent time visiting Carlyon Bay Beach, you could just be one of the people who could make all the difference to the Village Green application. The objections to the application are now in and we have until mid February to respond to them. Click here to find out how you might be able to help.

Media

On 22/01/2004 The Cornish Guardian ran a piece entitled 'Village Green scheme to halt Carlyon Bay Beach project' Click here to read the full article.

On 12/01/2004, BBC Cornwall aired a programme called 'Inside Out' which presented some of the issues surrounding the proposed Beach development at Carlyon Bay. The Chairman of Restormel's Development Control, Councillor Malcolm Brown, appeared and said that if this development were presented today, officers would recommend refusal, and it is likely that councillors would refuse because "it is an overlarge development for this site". The programme also highlighted some of the problems which face potential buyers. We had a flurry of emails offering support to our campaign as a result, so thanks to all those who sent in their comments. (See here for a selection of them)

On Site

However, heavy plant began to arrive on the site the same day, without any public consultation, public access to the beach has been stopped and the public footpath diverted. Several thousand cubic metres of soil have been excavated and service pipes laid to the contractors huts which have, in effect, barricaded the ancient public footpath. CBW have discovered, at the time of writing, that there has been no Order to close pedestrian access to the beach and are currently lobbying the council to have this access restored.

Demonstration

We have established that pedestrian access to the beach is still a legal right for the public and are making plans for some form of peaceful demonstration against its closure. In addition to a good turn out from local people, we hope to gain the support of other affected pressure groups and organisations such as the ramblers. Watch this space for further details, as we hope to see you there.

Advertising Standards

Many of you will have seen the adverts for the holiday homes on the beach. You may have asked yourselves this, 'How is it possible that something can be advertised as if it already exists, when it is yet to be built?' On 18/12/2003 the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint on such a point and have asked the advertisers to amend their advertisement accordingly.

Newsletter

The latest CarlyonBayWatch Newsletter is now available for you to download as a Word document. Please click here if you would like to view it or print off a copy.

14/12/2003

On Saturday December 13th, the CELTIC LEAGUE, a body with links to all the main Celtic populations, arranged a peaceful demonstration on Carlyon Bay beach. The main thrust of their campaign is "Affordable Housing Before Second Homes".

BBC Radio Cornwall and representatives of The Cornish Guardian were in attendance to witness and record proceedings, the culmination of which saw the Branch Convenor, Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, hand across a letter addressed to Ampersand CEO, Johnny Sandleson explaining the Celtic Leagues reasons for protesting against the proposed development. See the text of the letter here.

Whilst CBW are very much a single issue community action group, campaigning against the Beach development along the lines of 'It's Too Big", and there are no links between the two groups, several residents attended as private individuals and CBW would like to extend thanks to the Celtic League for their interest and support.

This highlights the point that contrary to the developers PR, in which attempts are made to dismiss some very serious concerns as NIMBYism, it seems that not only does the the Beach development go against the County Structure Plan, it is not wanted by locals or by the Cornish community at large.

10/12/2003

Restormel Borough Council have taken the unusual step of issuing a firm press release in response to statements made by the development company, Ampersand, which appeared in the local Cornish Guardian weekly newspaper on 04/12/2003. To quote from the article;

'Ampersand chairman Johnny Sandelsson told the Cornish Guardian on Tuesday (02/12/2003) that work will start on the development soon, whether or not the company's planning application is "called in". '

Restormel Borough Council's statement is an attempt to make the regulations absolutely clear. Read what they say here.

29/11/2003

CBW Information and Awareness Day on 27th November was deemed a resounding success.

Councillor Richard Stewart said "what a superbly organised meeting, which held the residents who attended in rapt attention to the end".

During the day, a steady stream of concerned locals came to visit the displays on a range of subjects from the complex Planning History through the crucial Environmental issues to the impact on Cornwalls Future. Feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of our position, that local people want something done about the Coliseum, but not something of the size and impact of this project. The majority of visitors congratulated us on our efforts to raise the profile of the call for a public enquiry.

Over a hundred members of the community attended the discussion in the evening and raised issues of concern in a lively, balanced debate. We learned from Mr Ray Trethewey, Officer from County Highways, that the decision on whether the public enquiry is to be held or not is to be announced before Christmas.

Ray also stated, in reference to the possibility that the Beach development will be foisted on us, "We have to deal with what is in front of us and in front of us is a problem" He added, "When this came up for renewal in 1996 the comments from the County Surveyor were, 'please look at this afresh and do a reassessment' - that was not done... we cannot build our way out of traffic chaos."

Chilling words, which leave us hoping that the Government Office South West will decide that this case merits a full public enquiry.

As well as extending our thanks to all those who attended, we are delighted to announce that funds of over £200 were raised to support future CBW activities.

(An invitation to the Ampersand Group for a representative to sit on the panel was made, but this was not taken up.)

24/11/2003 CarlyonBayWatch and the Beach

Information and Awareness Day

THURSDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2003

St Pauls Church Hall, Church Rd, Charlestown

10.00 am - 1.00 pm Displays, Discussions, Tea & Biscuits
5.00 pm - 7.00 pm

Volunteers from CBW will provide information, act as a channel for any concerns, take your queries to put forward at the ongoing Focus Groups and explore some of the implications of the project. Key figures with expert knowledge will be available to answer questions.

7.00 pm - 9.00 pm Open Forum ('Question Time' Format)

The Panel will be:
Mr. Tony Lee		Borough of Restormel
Mr. Richard Marsh		Cornwall Wildlife
Mr. Julian Payne		The Environment Agency
Cllr. Richard Stewart		Restormel and C.C.C.
Mr. Ray Trethewey		County Highways

Needless to say we are delighted that key local figures with significant influence on the future of our area have given up their time to attend the meeting to explore the issues of concern here in St Austell Bay.

We hope to see you there!

12/11/2003

On the Public Enquiry
The deadline we had been given for letters of objection to the planning applications, October 15th, has now been put back. The Government Office South West have issued an "Article 14 Direction" to Restormel Borough Council, which allows the First Secretary of State further time in which to consider the Applications... so we are still waiting for a decision on whether there will be a public enquiry or not. We have been told this could take 3 to 6 months.

On the Village Green Application
Cornwall County Council has accepted that our application to register part of Crinnis Beach as a Village Green meets the criteria; Notices have been served on the land owner and placed on the site. Notices have appeared in the Cornish Guardian and objectors will have 26 days to lodge their objections. CCC have stated that as their legal team has limited experience in this kind of case so they anticipate asking QC's opinion on receipt of objections. Objections will be sent to the applicant, one of our members, who will be given 28 days to respond. We are appealing for anyone who has evidence of the Beach having been used for recreational purposes over the last 20 years to contact us for information on how they can help with our response to any objections received. See here for more details.

The Sea Wall
Will purchasers of apartments on the beach at Carlyon Bay be liable for the costs of building and maintaining the sea wall?
Following the most recent Focus Group Meeting with Ampersand on October 21st CarlyonBayWatch are given to understand that intending purchasers would be well advised to investigate their future liabilities for the cost/maintenance/restoration of the Sea Wall very thoroughly...

The developers have submitted a report on the proposed Sea Wall drawn up by consultants Wallingford. A member of CBW, a geologist and former employee of ECLP with expert knowledge in the field has examined this report and found some serious unanswered questions. Read a digest of his analysis here.

Protests
We have heard that the Celtic League Protest group placed posters up around the development site last month saying 'No Second Homes' which were subsequently removed by security.

Donations
We had an outstanding response to our request for donations in the October Newsletter. Many thanks to all those who sent monies in.

In the Press
On 02/10/2003 the Cornish Guardian published a series of letters on an item titled 'The Carlyon Bay Debate'which sparked a lively exchange of local views in subsequent weeks editions. Of the 9 letters featured, only 2 were in favour of the development. The other 7 raised objections on a wide range of key issues related to the development such as the impact to the infrastructure, the technical suitability of the site, the destruction of the natural environment, the threat to notable wildlife and, most significantly, the short-sightedness of allowing the destruction of the very thing for which tourists visit Cornwall - our unspoiled beaches. Read a selection of those views here.

10/10/2003

The latest CarlyonBayWatch Newsletter is now available for you to download as a PDF document. Please click here if you would like to view it on screen or print off a copy.

At the September meeting of the Focus Group (CBW members meet with the developers representatives) Alan Prisk, Ampersands' planning consultant, made clear to us that because of the delay in finalising the Planning Consents, the Developer has now decided to proceed in accordance with the original 1988 Consent which excludes demolition of the Coliseum building.
It should be remembered that the decision to refer the application to John Prescott was Cornwall County Councils. In addition, all the papers have been delayed at GOSW because the Developer took time to reach a "Section 38 Agreement" with County Highways. The reasons for the hold-ups rest firmly with the authorities.

24/09/2003

Carlyonbaywatch is having great success in raising the profile of the campaign to have this development called in for a public enquiry.
Following on from the recent interest in the national media, CarlyonBayWatch were contacted by BBC Radio Cornwall and invited to participate in a recording for the regular Monday 'Coast to Coast' magazine programme.

Presenter Matt Pengelly had already spoken with the Ampersand sales director but we were able to give him a different perspective on the beach development. On Saturday 20th September, a group of us were interviewed on the key issues for inclusion in a 3 minute slot which went out at 7:15 am and 8 am on Monday 22nd. In the second slot, Councillor Richard Stewart, who represents Crinnis Ward, was interviewed by Matt on the crucial issue of the planning regulations.

If you are interested in what he had to say about the threat of the development going ahead without the requirement for a Sea Wall being met, just click here to download an MP3 to hear for yourself.

Read comments from Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of SouthWest Tourism, about the need for active consideration of making this a car-free resort" here.

To sum up, we have recently made three broadsheets, BBC News 24, Spotlight, local radio, Radio Cornwall and continued to stoke the debate in the local newspapers.

On Monday 8th September The Guardian published an article - 'Cornish Costa triggers outcry' by Steven Morris.

The following day it seemed like all the TV companies suddenly took interest in Carlyon Bay and wanted to talk to us.

At 7:20 am BBC Breakfast TV spoke live with Mark Frazer of CBW, Johnny Sandelson of Ampersand and Malcolm Bell of South West Tourism (see FAQ).

The history of the development and the issues surrounding it are complex and to begin with it did not seem as if we were going to get much of an opportunity to set out our case.

However, when a group of residents turned up after having seen the item and angry at the way the issue had been reduced to simplistic sound bites, we were given another chance to explain our objections at 8:15 am, again live to the nation. This footage was edited and ran on BBC News 24 throughout the day.

As the day wore on, it became apparent that we were, after all, going to have a chance to put a few of our views across in the face of the & PR machine.

When BBC Spotlight News came down at 1:30pm and gave us a bit more air time and then ran the item again at 6:15pm, all in all, we were given a good opportunity to repeat our call for the public inquiry and emphasise that the 929 signatories of our petition were seeking the correct scrutiny of all the issues to do justice to the future of the beach/es and the area as a whole.