09 March 2010. ING has just issued this statement:

ING Real Estate Development UK Ltd has announced that, following its consultation programme on its plans for the redevelopment of South Quay, it is withdrawing its current application, so that it can address the points which have come to light during the process. ING would like to thank all those individuals, organisations and consultees who have taken the time to provide valuable feedback.
ING will now review its plans and return with a revised application which will reflect the feedback and in particular concentrate on the issues of heritage, access and linkages and design details.
Marcel Kooij, Managing Director at ING Real Estate Development UK Ltd commented: “ING confirms its continued commitment to the regeneration of the historic harbour. South Quay remains the most appropriate site overall in planning terms for the foodstore and this first phase of development. We are confident that we can deliver the right scheme which can provide the catalyst to revitialising Hayle’s town centre.”

Read my comments on my blog - and add your views.

The actual wording was:

It was resolved to object to a) the request from Hayle Harbour Management Limited for the renewal of the dredging Licence for a period of 5 years and b) any extension of the area dredged.

It was resolved that the Clerk investigates the possibility of closure of the King George V Memorial Walk on 10 Sundays between 11 July 2010 and 12 September 2010 inclusive.

It follows the completion in February of the first phase of work to drill a 200m duct through sand dunes at Hayle where Wave Hub’s subsea-cable will come ashore. It will be linked to onshore cabling threaded through the duct and connected to the new sub-station.

The single-storey sub-station will occupy part of the former coal-fired power station site at Hayle, and is next to an existing sub-station.

Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5m from the South West RDA, £20m from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £9.5m from the UK government.

It is on schedule to be completed by autumn of this year with the first wave devices expected to be deployed in 2011.

02 March 2010. Hayle Town Council has been advised that the Sainsbury application for a supermarket at Marsh Lane has been withdrawn.

I received the following email from Sainsbury's consultants:

I thought that it might be of interest to know that Sainsbury's have withdrawn their planning application for Hayle to make some improvements to the scheme, with the intention of resubmitting the plans in a few weeks. We've had quite a few consultation responses and need time to address these before the plans go before the planning committee.

Matt Wooldridge, Senior Consultant, JBP Public Relations

28 February 2010. In the 'Plus ça change' department: Ray Wyse passed me a copy of the Cornishman dated 11 October 1984. See it here. It's a bit hard to read but here's what I think it says:

New Supermarket Food Firm Named. Gateway Foodmarkets have been named as the company intending to move into Tekoa's proposed new supermarket at Hayle. The identity of the firm has been revealed amid growing controversy over the scheme. Tekoa is seeking permission to build the supermarket on South Quay and fill in part of Penpol Dock to provide parking and access. Penwith Council has been told that Cignet Construction Ltd. plan to build the store if it is given the go-ahead. Cignet has announced that an agreement has been eached with the harbour owners to purchase that area of the harbour..

Gateway, said Cignet, would also not wish to move onto South Quay unless infilling of Penpol Dock - providing a link with existing shops at Penpol Terrace as well as parking space - took place. Slade's of Foundry also proposes to build a store - of some 25,000 sq. ft. with parking for 167 cars - on its current factory site at South Quay.

Mr. Owen Philp last week called on Tekoa and Slade's to work together to produce a development project which would be of benefit to the town and its residents.

02 February 2010. I have just received the report from CABE dated 22 January. CABE is the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and act as consultants to the government on large projects.

The opening sentence of their summary: We strongly object to this planning application.

02 February 2010. The advisers to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites, ICOMOS, has issued a scathing report on the ING proposal for a supermarket on South Quay. They issue a plea for the council to refuse planning permission. Here are some extracts from their conclusions (I have added emphasis and edited. OUV means Outstanding Universal Value):

31 January 2010. The Harbour Master, Richard Ford, has just returned from leave and discovered that the mechanical dredging taking place on the east side of the estuary was not where he expected it to be - and was not helping to keep the channel navigable. Consequently he has halted the mechanical dredging immediately while the situation is considered.

It is likely that mechanical dredging will not restart before the period allowed in the licence expires. This was a difficult decision for the harbour master to take. Thank him if you get the opportunity.

21 December 2009. Dismayed by the idea of a supermarket on the South Quay (hardly what you would expect in a World Heritage Site) and buoyed by the success of the Friends of Penzance Harbour, I have sent the following letter to the Cornishman:

Harbour Issues Solved?
Poorly thought-out harbour development. Damage to a historic conservation area. Major traffic problems. Opposition from the public. Strong support from Cornwall Council officers and the RDA against all advice. Penzance Harbour? No, Hayle Harbour!
Hayle faces the same issues that the Friends of Penzance Harbour faced, and Hayle’s harbour development (and supermarket) will be forced through - just as was attempted in Penzance.
ING has spent millions of pounds on consultants and now needs to claw back its investment in any way it can. In five or 10 years, ING will be gone. In 20 or 30 years, the people of Hayle will still be living with whatever ING leaves behind. We had to give up protected greenfield sites in the name of ‘viability’. Now we must have a supermarket on South Quay and fill in part of the historic quay, also for viability. Is this our promised ‘landmark building’?
ING will claim to have gone through the consultation process, but people were consulted on a very different proposal before outline planning permission was reluctantly granted. Hayle is also in a World Heritage Site, and the WHS advisors (ICOMOS) were scathing about ING’s plans.
It is time to consider taking over the harbour for the benefit of local people. We then can focus on jobs and community buildings, not housing in the wrong place with its attendant, intractable traffic problems. Why don't we form a charitable trust to run and develop the harbour, with help from the EU and the government? Run by and for local people, this would enable us to achieve a harbour regeneration that Hayle could be proud of. We need to look at alternatives to inappropriate overdevelopment before it's too late.
Time for “Friends of Hayle Harbour”?
Cllr. John Bennett
Hayle Town Council

The £42 million project has been developed by the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) and is a cornerstone of its strategy to develop a world class marine energy industry in South West England. 
A two-week operation is now underway to drill a 200-metre duct through sand dunes at Hayle where Wave Hub’s subsea-cable will come ashore. The cable will be threaded through the duct and connected to a new electricity sub-station that will be built next year, allowing Wave Hub to be connected to the National Grid. 
Guy Lavender, Wave Hub’s recently appointed general manager who takes up his post in January, said: “Our contractors have spent the last two weeks setting up on site and are now ready to start. This is a crucial part of our shoreside works and means we’ll be ready to receive the cable connecting Wave Hub to the shore when it is laid next summer. 
“We want South West England to be a world leader in the development of marine renewables, an industry which could be worth £2 billion a year to the UK by 2050. With world leaders meeting in Copenhagen next week to discuss climate change, Wave Hub is a tangible example of a project that could have a global impact on reducing carbon emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels.” 

The operations on the beach (© Bob Amos)

Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5 million from the South West RDA, £20 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £9.5 million from the UK government. 
In July, South West England was designated the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area because of its strength in marine energy, attracting a further £10 million of UK government investment for projects that will support the industry 
With government, RDA and European funding, the total investment in the South West’s marine energy programme in the next two years is expected to top £100 million. 
An independent economic impact assessment has calculated that Wave Hub could create 1,800 jobs and inject £560 million in the UK economy over 25 years. Almost 1,000 of these jobs and £332 million could be generated in the South West. 

20 October 2009. The Hayle Residents Association has circulated the results of their its survey on residents' views regarding supermarkets in Hayle. There were 270 responses, a very substantial number, and the results make interesting reading (70% are not in favour of a supermarket on South Quay, for example). For more click here. Kudos to Cllr. Bob Amos (and Harry Blakeley and Bob Mims) for doing a lot of leg work as well as crunching the numbers and preparing the report.

17 September 2009.

The Britain in Bloom South West competition results have been announced and Hayle was awarded Gold and the SWTA Cup for the second year in a row.  We also won three neighbourhood awards (out of three) and a discretionary award and cup for the Library wildlife garden. 

More information is available at www.hayleinbloom.org.uk.

15 September 2009. An open public meeting has been arranged to discuss access to services and the future of the West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance. The Public Meeting will be held next Tuesday 22nd September 2009 @ 7.30pm in St John's Hall, Penzance.

Jim McKenna, Ex-Chief Executive, Penwith District Council, has agreed to be the independent chair for the debate.
Cllr. Joan Symons, Chair of Cornwall Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Health & Adults) , has agreed to attend. Cllrs. Neil Burden and Chris Goninan from Cornwall Council will also do their best to be there.
Invitations have been issued to Mr Peter Colclough, the Acting Chief Executive of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and Ann James, Chief Executive of the C&IoS primary Care Trust but at the time of writing the NHS Management have declined the invitation to attend. The meeting will be primarily to hear the views about the local NHS services & the Hospital from the local community. The organisers, HealthWatch Cornwall, hope everyone including staff, Nurses & Clinicians, patients past & present, and Link members will feel able to attend and make a contribution. Given the concerns of staff, Unison are proposing to attend.