30 Jan 2012. There is a consultation taking place about plans to reorganise fire service cover in Hayle, Camborne and Redruth. The proposals will finally bring a lot of Hayle within the target of a 10 minute response time to an alarm and also improve things for Camborne and Redruth.

You can respond to the consultation here. I am hoping that we can avoid putting the new fire station on the Commercial Road Car Park since some open views over Copperhouse Pool should remain. I would be interested to hear if you have some practical alternatives. Sites that will cost a lot to buy will probably sink the business plan. See the presentation here.

30 Jan 2012. The report by the old Government Office SW making a recommendation to the Secretary of State should be sent within the week. A best guess on response from the Secretary is the end of February.

Cornwall Council has produced a list of 6 possible structures for an organisation to take over the harbour. It did not include a charitable trust. It does now.

Cornwall Council's harbour master seems to want to split the harbour from the associated land that ING is willing to gift. While it is important that the harbour is properly financed and is able to run properly, it is asinine to split off the land. No organisation will want to take on land that is primarily a liability without some means of funding it. By inlcuding the harbour and land as one element it will ensure that the whole harbour can be developed for the people of Hayle without leaving bits in a mess - as it is now.

07 Oct 2011. Cornwall Council's Strategic Planning Committee sat yesterday to determine the Hayle supermarket applications. The meeting started at 10am and the Hayle part finished around 5pm.

The results were:

Because there was an objection from English Heritage, a statutory consultee, the committee could not approve the application but only be 'minded to approve with a referral to the Secretary of State'. This will result in either a 'call in', where the Secretary of State will make the decision via a public enquiry, or a letter authorising Cornwall Council to proceed. This must happen within 21 days.

The new rugby club site on Carwin Rise was approved.

20 Sep 2011. Last Thursday, Hayle Town Council had an open meeting at Bodriggy School to give its views on the three supermarket applications. The results were:

• ING South Quay, No Objection. 13 For, 0 Against
• Actoris/Morrisons Jewsons Site, Objection. 13 For, 0 Against
• ASDA/Walker Development, Rugby Club, Objection. 10 For, 3 Against
• New Rugby Club Site on Carwin Rise, No Objection. 13 For, 0 Against

Previously councillors had narrowly opposed the ING application and narrowly approved the ASDA application. It was a surprise that there was a unanimous vote in favour of the ING application this time, reflecting perhaps the changes made and the better engagement process undertaken. It was also unexpected that the ASDA application fell out of favour - especially as there was a strong lobby for this. Traffic issues at the roundabout continue to dog this application.

29 July 2011. A press release has been issued detailing the key amendments in ING's revised proposal. They are:

• The partial removal of infill material in Carnsew Creek to provide additional moorings and expose the entrance to Carnsew Dock;
• The proposed re-introduction of traditional sluicing for Carnsew Pool;
• Enhancements to the existing harbour management including: enhanced fishermen’s facilities on North Quay, improved security and storage; modifying the bridge proposals; creation of new moorings for fishing and leisure users; and the proposed creation of a community harbour management trust supported by an ongoing annual levy raised from developments built on ING’s land.
• Widening the promenade along the whole length of the quay facing Penpol Terrace to create more public realm, open spaces and access for harbour users;
• Increasing the size of the open space at the northern end of South Quay and redesigning the feature restaurant;
• Resiting the food store closer to the town with an additional entrance and café facing Isis Gardens.
• Redesigning the store and free standing retail units to improve access to the town centre and Foundry complex;
• Redesigning the houses and introducing apartments to more closely reflect maritime buildings and include integral garages, roof top terraces and direct quayside access and quayside storage spaces.

You may read the full press release here.

You can read the updated application on Cornwall Council's web site by clicking here: http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk:8181/rpp/index.asp?caseref=PA10/08142

The final layout is shown above. Click on the image for a larger version.

Some points to note: during the working life of the quay the buildings were generally down the west side of the quay and the architects have tried to replicate this by keeping as much open, public space as possible on the side facing Penpol Terrace. I understand that it is planned that significant pedestrian improvements will be made around Isis Gardens and Foundry Square. Also note that Carnsew dock and the sluice are restored. It appears that a footbridge across Penpol Creek will be a 'future enhancement'.

15 July 2011. Following on from the BBC's History of the World in 100 Objects, Museums in Cornwall have produced a list for the county. Hayle's entry is scoria block, seen throughout the town as a reminder of copper smelting, and we are number 17 on the list.

To download the complete document (4Mb), click here.

10 July 2011. The delayed decision on the supermarkets moves into its final phase now. Here are the key dates:

25 July Revised submissions due

04 Aug Notification in the local press

25 Aug Public comments phase closes

14 Sep Planning Committee agenda issued

22 Sep Strategic Planning Committee convenes

The archaeologist in charge is Tim Upson-Smith and they have been working all week with the help of George Brighton and his digger to cut a number of trenches.

11 June 2011. Sorry for the lack of updates - being mayor is time-consuming! There have now been three 'Workshops' run by Cornwall Council with the intention of looking at key issues in the redesign of the Supermarket application by ING RED for South Quay. The workshops have been attended by planning officers, English Heritage, Historic Environment, councillors and ING and their historic consultant and architects.

ING is trying extremely hard to accommodate a wide range of constituencies. They are trying to meet the needs of harbour users, restore sluicing, and improve Foundry Square and Isis Garden. It is now unlikely that a cinema will be built on South Quay but ING is promising one on North Quay instead.

A difficult issue, that seems non-negotiable as far as English Heritage is concerned, is the need to remove the infill dumped into the Carnsew channel. This reduces development land for ING but would be a major gain from a heritage viewpoint.

Click here for some interesting photographs and historical maps of the South Quay produced by Nick Cahill of Cornwall Council Historic Environment.

04 April 2011. ING RED has restructured its professional team and now has a new heritage consultant and a new team of architects.

The historic consultant is Stephen Levrant and the architects are Bath-based firm Feilden Clegg Bradley. They have already made visits to Hayle and seem committed to respecting the heritage elements of the site.

A series of Heritage Workshops will be taking place over the next few weeks where key stakeholders will be able to steer the design.

18 February 2011. Marilyn and Louise at the Salt Gallery in Copperhouse have formed Save our NHS (Cornwall) - largely through 38degrees on facebook.

Our National Health Service in Cornwall is under threat. The Health and Social Care Bill currently before parliament will allow the increased involvement of profit-led private companies in our health service. There will no longer be a single Cornwall National Health Service. Instead there will be many separate consortia led by GPs. Read the details here and get a copy of the petition here.

They intend to campaign locally to raise awareness of the Health and Social Care Bill which is having its 3rd reading in 5/6 weeks. They already have 36 supporters and need your help. Contact them at:

Marilyn and Louise

Salt Gallery, 57 Fore Street, Copperhouse, Hayle

saltgallery@tiscali.co.uk

02 February 2011. The planning officer's recommendations to the Strategic Planning Committee is now available. Click here to download.

ING South Quay:

13. Recommendation:
13.1 That the matter is delegated to the Head of Planning and Regeneration to approve the proposal subject to:
13.2 The satisfactory completion of negotiations to include additional conditions where appropriate, in respect of the following details:-

• Design.
• Delivery of the cinema.
• Matters arising from Environmental Statement update
• Conclusion of all Heads of Terms for the Section106 Agreement.

Morrisons/Jewsons Site:

Recommendation: Refusal

ASDA/Rugby Ground:

Recommendation: Refusal

Sainsbury/Marsh Lane:

Recommendation: Refusal

The Minister made the commitment during the first meeting of the UK Marine Energy Programme Board at the University of Exeter today (January 31). The Programme aims to bring together Government and the private sector to accelerate the development of the marine renewables sector in the UK by removing hurdles to its commercialisation.

And in Hayle in Cornwall some £15 million is being invested – including £5 million from the UK Government – in new roads and infrastructure for the development of a marine renewables business park at the point where Wave Hub is connected to the mainland. Work will start in the coming weeks.

26 January 2011. The Strategic Planning Committee meeting scheduled for 3 February has been moved to 9 February at 9:30 am.

Click here to go to the Cornwall Council page announcing this.

It says:

• The agenda will be displayed in the week before the meeting
• Proposed Venue: Council Chamber, Cornwall Council, County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY.
• Contact: Michelle Davey, Senior Democratic Services Officer, 01209 614385

Note: This meeting has been moved from Thursday 3 to Wednesday 9 February in response to the large number of public representations received following the public meeting on 19 January.

23 January 2011. The Hayle Town Council meeting to consider the supermarket applications took place on the 20th of January. The official results will occur when the minutes are approved in due course. An unofficial summary (which may contain errors and simplifications) follows.

Number of votes received for either 'no objection' or against 'objection':

Number of applications that councillors supported:

That is: 3 councillors supported none of the applications and six councillors supported two.

Number of councillors supporting the following combinations:

There were 13 councillors voting at the meeting.

There was a small majority in favour of the ASDA application and a couple of conditions were requested. There was a small majority against the ING application but support was offered if several conditions could be met. The other two applications had large majorities against.

21 January 2011. The answers to questions posed at the Wednesday night public meeting on the Hayle Supermarkets are starting to be posted by Cornwall Council. You can read the latest here and then click on 'Latest on Hayle Supermarkets' under General Planning.

You can also read the answers in pdf format here (updated 21/1/11)

07 December 2010. The Sun reports that two of the directors of Crown Currency Exchange, formerly based in Hayle, have been arrested. Read the full story on the Sun's site.

02 December 2010. The decision on a supermarket in Hayle is drawing closer. There is to be a public meeting at Hayle Community School at 6-30pm on Wednesday, 19th January and Hayle Town Council will give their official view the following evening at 7-15pm at Hayle Community Centre. The decision will be made at the Cornwall Council Strategic Planning Meeting on February 3rd.

You must come and make your views known or others will make the decision for you.

01 November 2010. A dredging protocol has been produced by Buro Happold for Hayle Harbour Authority Ltd. as a requirement of the now expired dredging licence issued by Penwith District Council. It contains some very large numbers for the amount of sand that needs to be dredged to clear the channel.

You can read a copy here [2Mb] and also read the results of the chemical analysis of the dredged material here. [2Mb]

Cornishman, 7 Oct 2010

Hayle Times, 8 Oct 2010

08 October 2010. Developer (and applicant) Actoris with Morrisons, and their agent Savills, gave a presentation to the town council on the state of their planning application which was accepted on 22 April and had a target determination date of 22 July (13 weeks). The council was informed that Actoris had attempted to negotiate with ING but were rebuffed. Actoris is willing to cover the cost of the restoration of the South Quay walls and the footbridge over Penpol Creek by way of a S106 contribution. This would enable ING to build in accordance with their existing planning permission. It was reported that there are no outstanding items from consultees, including highways, ICOMOS and the EA and their application is ready to go in front of the planning committee.

To date, only the Sainsbury and Morrisons teams have planning applications submitted. The Sainsbury application was validated on 26 July.

01 October 2010. Hayle Town Council received a presentation on the revised plans for the ASDA supermarket at the rugby ground. The store size is being reduced, parking can be shared with the M&S site (relieving an on-going congestion problem), the design of the Loggans roundabout appears to work and also provides a level crossing point for pedestrians and the plans for the new rugby ground are approved by the Rugby Club - who feel they would be the envy of every club in Cornwall!

In a postscript to that meeting, after ASDA had left, Richard Walker of Walker Developments, the agent for ASDA, revealed to the Council an offer made to ING's agent to buy 35% of the land on the South Quay earmarked for the supermarket for £5,000,000. That land would be gifted to the Town Council for regeneration purposes. ING would not build a supermarket but could develop the remaining land according to the approved Master Plan. It will be interesting to see how this proposal develops.

09 September 2010. ING has just created a new web site at hayleharbour.com. The site highlights the good things that ING is doing and is believed to be the initiative of their PR consultant, Gary Cartmell.

08 August 2010. St. Julia's Hospice needs to raise £1.5 million for its new extension. The planned development will increase the number of beds at St Julia’s by 50% and create a dedicated and separate area for day patients. With ever increasing demand on the services at St Julia’s, this extension will allow more people to receive the specialist support they so desperately need.

Currently Cornwall has 24 adult palliative care beds and all of these are provided by Cornwall Hospice Care. In the recent past patients have had to be turned away, which is frustrating for the medical team and extremely disappointing for patients and their families. This project at St Julia’s is part of the ongoing commitment to meet the growing hospice needs of the people of Cornwall.

There will be a sponsored walk on 12 September and I urge to to either join in or to sponsor walkers.