Hayle Area Plan
12 February 2008Dear John Bennett – thank you for making this point. The Hayle Area Action Plan will have a momentous effect on Hayle – what it looks like, what it is like to live here and for children to grow up in. I am keen to see Hayle prosper but have major concerns about the proposals to develop so many sites including sites that are currently green land. Many of these areas have been green areas since maps began, some have fragile and unique eco-systems and once a green area is developed it will never return. Green areas make an area look pleasant, they make people feel relaxed and good about their environment – let’s not lose it! I know we need development but do we need this much development? It seems incredible that Hayle could need or support this many homes. Surely we would need a major investment in the infrastructure – roads, drainage, schools and healthcare to support so many people. What do others think?
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One Response to “Hayle Area Plan”
February 12th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I, too, am worried about green space. It is what makes living in and around Hayle pleasant.
I have put it on record at Penwith District Council that we need to review the allocation of housing that Hayle has received once the Action Plan process has concluded. Over 3,000 is far too many for Hayle to absorb.
Do note, however, that although the Action Plan identifies a lot of areas on the map as suitable for potential development this does not mean they will be earmarked for actual development. Many of the areas will be identified as green space for the whole of the 2006-2026 period. Indeed, that is part of the purpose of the consultation – to see what areas are suitable for development and which are not.
The current Local Plan, which is the planning document that will be superseded by the Action Plan, has a policy called TV2 which calls for green space around villages. Phillack is one of these. The harbour development is proposing 250 houses in a TV2 area. Such development would be unlikely to be approved if there were not substantial gains for Hayle elsewhere. In this case, of course, the gains will be in repairs to the harbour and the creation of jobs.
Nevertheless, it is worrying to see a hard-won policy overturned and I hope we are able to achieve additional protections on other green land, such as Riviere Farm, to compensate.
There are a lot of issues needing attention at the moment and you are quite right to recognise that infrastructure is one of these. I know that your district councillors are paying a lot of attention to these matters.