Street Trading

Last week Penzance Town Council’s General Purposes Committee had a hard decision to make regarding a Street Trading Licence. Although the issuing of Street Trading Licences is a Cornwall Council decision (more on this later) the town council is consulted.

The application was for a stall in Market Jew Street, by Lloyds Bank, operating for up to seven days a week selling Olives and other related items.

When considering a Street Trading Licence the most important area that is taken into account by the committee are the goods being offered for sale, if there is a business already operating from a shop/retail premises selling the same or similar items in close proximity to where the applicant wishes to trade, we have to consider the effect the issuing of the licence would have on that business.  

The reasoning behind this is, we, as I’m sure most others do, want as many retail shops to remain on our High Street as possible.  As a street trader will have a commercial advantage, in that they do not have the fixed overheads associated with maintaining a retail outlet i.e. rent, business rates, insurance, electricity etc. The shopkeeper’s viability could well be severely affected by the granting of a street trading licence, which pays a one off fee per annum.

Whereas the opening of a shop selling the same or similar goods, over which Councils have little or no control, is a commercial decision for the shopkeeper.

In this case there are two retail shop’s selling a similar range of goods in immediate proximity to where the applicant wished to trade.  Not withstanding this, the vote was tied and came down to the casting vote of the acting chairman; a post that I had stood down from at the last meeting, the recommendation was for refusal.

I can think of few areas that Town & Parish Councils could manage better than Cornwall Council than Street Trading Licensing.

The local clerk’s office could discuss with applicants before they submit their application, the criteria on which it will be judged, offer alternatives, explain developments that are in the planning stage, the applicant could still submit the application, that’s their right, but an application could be managed better. It would enable Town & Parish Councils to encourage street trading in areas of the Town that could do more to assist Town Centres to remain viable.

Do I think that Cornwall Council will hand over the managing of Street Trading to the Town & Parishes, no, they see it purely as a revenue stream and as such something to hang on to.

For the record I voted in favour of the granting of the licence, Cllr P Rendle was Chairman. 

Update: My thanks to Cllr A Wallis for pointing out that Street Trading is a Statuary Duty, so Cornwall Council can not pass to Town & Parish Councils. One, for the Localism agenda maybe.  

Core Strategy

Don’t know what’s it all about, I read something in the paper, it won’t effect me, I can’t be bothered, it’s only something Cornwall Council are doing, it won’t  mean anything, it will be forgotten in a few months, it’s just another consultation.

Comments above ring a bell?

So why is the Core Strategy important?

Well, within this document is the future of Cornwall, the future of your town or village, even for many your street.

Identified within this document are the sites scattered throughout the Duchy as to where housing is going to be built, developments take place and there are a lot of them.

Doing nothing now is not an option. In favour or against if YOU do not make your views known NOW it will be too late.

Let’s jump forward a year or two.

Developer wants to build 400 houses on a site, which is just across the road from where you live, currently the site is used by you and all your neighbours to walk the dog, children play there, it’s the only bit of green space open to all on the edge of the estate where you live.

Planning application submitted by developer, you form an action group, write to newspapers, set up website. Lobby local councillor, councillor asks what colour do you want the doors, what?

Cornwall Council officers at the planning meeting, point out that the site was identified within the Core Strategy as suitable for housing, at the consultation on the Core Strategy 100% of the comments for this site were in favour, (there may have only been two comments, both from developers). Local councillor has nowhere to go, can object, but it’s in the plan, no one objected.

Cornwall Council wants to build 48,000 houses and their media department is working overtime to convince you and me that these are needed. Read here about that need. 

When you look at the Core Strategy, imagine that every area marked as an area for development is actually an outline planning application, if you want your view to be heard NOW is the time. 

Penzance Harbour Options Review

Yesterday afternoon I went along to the Penzance Harbour Options Review, and good fun it was, got to meet lots of old friends, had a good chat with a lot of people. The turn out for the Review had been very good, with over 350 having turned up by 2 pm so with 7 hours still to go,  I’m sure it went very well.

So what did I learn, I should point out that I spent over 20 years of my working life at sea, but I’m no expert, but it would seem that hidden within Penzance is the greatest gathering of marine engineering, sea transport, harbour design experts in the world, if, as I’m sure there is, an International Conference on Harbour Design, Penzance would be very empty. I spent some time speaking with an old friend, he did not claim to be an expert, but as he gets to drive the Scillonian, his views were good to hear.

All the usual suspects were there, spouting as to why their scheme was the only one that would work, accusing everyone else, ( Town Council, Andrew George, Friends of Penzance Harbour, True Friends of Penzance Harbour, Chamber of Commerce, et al ) of doing this or not doing that, so all in all proper consultation.

As an exercise in consultation and engagement the Harbour Review Board could not have worked harder, having been as open with what they have been doing, as anybody could be, they came to this process with a blank sheet of paper, (much decried by some, who went out of their way to misinterpret their intentions), a limited amount of money and a very tight timetable. They brought in Hydra as consultants ((true experts) to cries of what do you need a bunch of consultants for? Well if you don’t know the answer to that, you really don’t have any idea), who had not been involved with the previous scheme, but already had a lot of information from work carried out for Penwith DC in the past, cutting both costs and time.

The presentation boards were good, in that options were put next to each other so a comparison between the options could be made.

I’m told that after yesterday all the comments will be taken into account and final options prepared.

Now if only we could get those, from all sides, to just stop for a minute, engage their brains, look at what’s on offer, see this as the start and not the end of redeveloping the Penzance Harbour area, use their energy in a more positive way, we just may get somewhere. Hope springs eternal. 

St Erth Park and Ride

Today I watched the Strategic Planning Meeting from Cornwall Council on its plans for a Park and Ride at St Erth. (Planning officer favourite for the year)

Whatever the merits of this plan, my overriding impression was that not enough, well planning, had gone into it.

Remembering that the applicant is Cornwall Council, you would have though the officers would have some idea of what was going on outside of their offices, public meetings etc. But no.

The officers did not seem clear as to what the park and ride was for, one saying it’s to relive traffic in St Ives, then it’s Penzance and later still Penwith, it’s for tourists, no commuters, to take traffic off the A30.

How many cars will use it, we don’t know. 

How will it be funded once in place, don’t know. 

Can you buy a parking ticket and train/bus ticket, we haven’t looked at that.

How much will it cost to park, we don’t know. 

Which busses will serve the park & ride, the bus companies have indicated that they have no plans to divert busses to the site. Park and no Ride?  The 300 will go to the site, (the 300 is the open top circular route, summer only service).  

How will you address access to the site, lights on the A30, will this not cause congestion, we don’t know. 

What about the narrow bridge? 

How will a pedestrian get to the site?
And so on, you get the idea I'm sure.

Cornwall Councils bacon saved by late intervention of legal suggesting a site inspection, stops what looks like  a refusal. Decision deferred. 

Now a bit of a rush to do some planning and issue Hymn sheets before the next meeting.