Council Tax

Its budget planning time up at Cornwall Council and once again cuts to services and facilities is the order of the day and once again there are calls for town and parish councils to take over some of these services and facilities, with some reports that Town and Parish councils could take over the running of up to £34m worth of services but is this a realistic possibility?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-29010865

There are 212 Town and Parish Councils in Cornwall and there is a lot of variation between them.

All Town and Parish councils get the vast amount of their funding the same way, the precept. When you get your council tax bill from Cornwall Council it’s made up of 3 elements, the largest is the money that goes to Cornwall Council, the next is the amount that goes to the Police, these are the same for every property in the same housing band across the county, the 3rd element and by far the smallest amount is the Town and Parish council Precept, this is the money that your Town or Parish Council has set in its budget to collect from every property in the parish so this amount varies depending on where you live.

That variation can be quite large with two councils in Cornwall collecting over £200, fifteen over £100, five collecting nothing and various amounts in-between, my own council Penzance Town Council collects £85.32 for a band D property, this is on the low side for the larger councils. 

The fact that this tax is raised on the number of properties in the parish and not people does bring up some interesting numbers: Newquay  population 19,900 has 6825 band D equivalent properties: Penzance population 21,200 has 6417 properties: Truro population 23,000 has 6139 properties. So Newquay with a population over 3,000 less than Truro raises its precept on nearly 700 more properties.

The total sum raised by this precept for 2014/15 by the 212 Town and Parish Councils in Cornwall is £13,598,097.90, in contrast Cornwall Council will raise £223.214m in council tax and a further £922.977m  in other tax and income.

So is it realistic for Town & Parish councils to take on and run up to £34m of services and facilities when their current total income is less than £14m? 

To do this would require a big hike in Town and Parish Council incomes but and it’s a huge but, not for all. The burden would fall mostly on the few large towns, there are 11 towns in Cornwall with populations over 10,000 (if you include Camborne/Pool/Redruth as CC does as one) and of these only 5 are over 20,000. It’s to this small group of towns and their residents that the largest burden will fall. 

There are 33 libraries in Cornwall pressure is already mounting on these towns to take them on.

For example: My own council, Penzance Town Council currently has a full time office staff of 4 and from our precept of £85.32 we raise just over £547,489, we also have income from 1 car park we own. From this income we run a Art Gallery & Museum, public park and playgrounds, skateboard park, town centre CCTV, 9 allotment fields, chapel of remembrance, Golowan Festival also support for other festivals and events, Christmas Lights, open air theatre. care and maintenance of a cemetery, care and maintenance of over 20 kilometres of public footpaths, we give financial support to other groups in the town, the list goes on.

In addition to this, we have in the past few years been asked to take on the public toilets in the town, replace the pavement/roadside weed spraying. The Jubilee Pool could also fall under the control of the town council in the near future. From this it can be seen that there is already a strain on the council's income, adding more to the list, much as the council may wish to take on these responsibilities it can only lead to one outcome, more council tax paid by the residents of the town.

In comparison the parish of Madron is just 2 miles from the centre of Penzance, the residents of this parish pay a precept of £40.09 raising just £19.600 from the 489 properties in the parish, little or any of this extra tax burden will fall on them. They will still benefit from access to the facilities that Penzance has to offer, but without the added tax burden, in fact Madron village is closer to the town centre than I am, this will be repeated across Cornwall big tax rises for those in the larger towns to pay for local facilities and services rather than the cost being spread across the whole and an ever widening gap in the tax costs of living in a larger town.

TOP TIP: - To cut your council tax bill move to a parish with St Michael in its name, St Michael Caerhays pays £0 parish precept, the same for St Michael’s Mount with St Michael Penkivel paying just £18.95 having gone down from last year.

Cornwall Council withdraws another service.

Tucked away in my briefing notes this week was a letter for information from the Highway Network Manager, the information being passed on was that in future the Highways Department would not be carrying out general weed treatment i.e. spraying with herbicide.

That’s the normally a pair of workers who you see about spraying the area between the road and pavement stopping the weeds growing in this area.

Now in the grand scheme of things, this may not seem that important, but if you just think about it, uncontrolled weeds lining every urban roadside, I fancy not the most pleasant sight.

If anything is guaranteed to insure an area looks rundown, uncared for, desolate that is going to be it.

Cornwall Council, go on to say if any Town or Parish Council wish to take on this service they can, but at the Town Councils own cost.

Currently some Towns do this work on an agency agreement with Cornwall Council who pay them £160.61 per km. these agreements will also end.

I do not know how many kilometres of urban streets there are in Penzance town councils area, but I am sure it’s a lot.

£160.61 per km at first glance seems a lot, but I’m sure that when Cornwall Council signed these agreements they did the sums and paid less than it was costing them. Taking on extra staff, training (have to be qualified to work within the highway), vehicles, risk assessments etc. I can see that this will not be a cheap operation. 

If Town & Parish councils want to take this work on or contract it out, and which wouldn’t, the money to pay for it has to come from somewhere.

Town & Parish councils are not awash with money, as more and more services are discontinued by Cornwall Council, whatever happened to ‘economy of scale’ on which Cornwall Council was formed, money available to do the things that people enjoy rather than just need will be eaten into, in Penzance budgets for the likes of Christmas Lights, Golowan, Art Gallery & Museum and many other events that make our town what it is, will be impacted upon and life a little sadder for it.

More Parking Shenanigans at Cornwall Council

Whilst searching for something else on Cornwall Councils Website, I came across this little nugget of information.

Cornwall Council will be trialling reduced car parking in several Council owned car parks over the next few months.

The move follows requests from local Cornwall Councillors in Bude, Launceston, Liskeard, Penzance and St Ives. The Cornwall Council car parks included in the trial are:

Bude – Summerleaze; £1 per day from Monday 16 December for about 3 months

Launceston – Castle Street, Cattle Market, Pannier Market, Walkhouse; £1 on Saturdays leading up to Christmas – 30 November, 7, 14 and 21 December

Liskeard – Rapsons; £1 per day from Monday 16 December for about three months

Penzance – St Erbyns; £1.90 per day from Friday 6 December for about three months

St Ives - £2 per day in all long stay car parks, £2 for three hours in short stay car parks from Monday 16 December for about three months

Ignoring that I hadn’t heard of this trial and so had very few others, it’s the rather interesting pricing structure that caught my eye, a North South divide we all know about, but Cornwall seems to have its own West East divide, twice as much to park in the West as in the East.

I also find the trial in Launceston an interesting one, a price reduction on Saturdays leading up to Christmas, speaking from a town that has just spent over £20,000 to achieve the same thing, what is the trial in Launceston trying to find out? Other than the fact that Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources is a Launceston councillor.

PS Who came up with £1.90 as a price? Even more change in the car, as I refuse to pay the £2 that most will be forced to pay.

'Gulval to be consumed by Penzance Housing'

Today I was forwarded an e-mail from a colleague concerning yet another development being planned in Penzance & Gulval, as you can read below officers at Cornwall Council already think that enough consultation has taken place and that their plans are already in the public domain.

Not that public I fancy as no one I have spoken to has even heard of them.

So what are we talking about?

The land at Ponsandane is being seriously considered as being suitable for a housing estate and that Cornwall Planners have already conducted talks with developers to deliver a first phase of 100+ houses over the next few years. With further phases, to be developed at a later date.

This plot of land was protected in the original local plan as being the important green wedge of a high landscape value and preventing the coalescence of the village of Gulval into Penzance. At the consultation stage Penzance town council opposed development on this land, and a few years ago the planning inspectorate refused an appeal for just six houses on the land at Ponsandane because of the adverse visual impact and the fact that the B3312 formed a natural village boundary.

So why the Council  planners should now think it is appropriate to build on this site is beyond me, whilst I can appreciate that planning policy can become out of date, there is no way that a policy protecting an area for its important visual importance and role in separating the two communities of Gulval and Penzance can become irrelevant (Policy TV-2 of the local plan). 

Certainly this is not something they should decide for themselves; this is something the community should decide.   

The planning officer at Cornwall Council leading this plan has been approached regarding this development, Dave Slatter (Planning Officer, Cornwall Council, Camborne – whom I have been told has been going about the council offices rubbing his hands in glee at a development that as far as he is concerned is ‘in the bag’). Dave Slatter’s reply is as follows:

You are correct we have been in contact with the **********’ as landowners as we have been with other landowners whose sites have been identified as potential housing opportunities within the draft town framework.

The town frame is one of a number of frameworks that are being developed and used to ultimately inform an Allocations Plan for the emerging new Local Plan.

The potential for the site’s allocation has been in the public domain for some time now when it was identified within the Penzance options paper was published for public consultation in January 2012 as part of the West Penwith Community Network Area Discussion Paper.

This can still be downloaded by clicking on the West Penwith link on this page http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=32791.

The sites that were included in the plan were arrived at by using a robust Urban Assessment Methodology that examined the land around the existing urban area in order to discount the least sustainable land from further consideration. This approach was used consistently across all the towns considered and because of the sustainable development approach taken often resulted in challenging existing policies or even past decisions.

The assessment documents for Penzance were made available at the same time as the public consultation and can still downloaded fromhttp://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=30171

Since the publication of the Community Network Area paper the target housing numbers within the Local plan have changed and are likely to change again. We have been examining the original options in more detail, including speaking to landowners (some did not want their land considered further), in order ascertain which options are not only the most sustainable but also viable and capable of delivery, this work is ongoing.

We are hoping to consult on the Allocations document next year however that does not stop developers from pursuing their own initiative including submitting planning applications if they chose to do so. In these circumstances we make them aware they are progressing at risk from a local policy perspective and strongly recommend they engage with the local community.

I have huge reservations about the methodology used to undertake the sustainability appraisal anyway, which I wont go into now, and I do not believe the SA done for the Penzance sites could be considered to be sound as it is subjective, inconsistent and not backed up by a strong evidence base (particularly in regards to environment and landscape issues). 

Regardless of this I believe it is extremely arrogant of the planners to think they can get housing development in this site through the backdoor so to speak without fully consulting the community on whether or not this land is still considered to be the important green wedge which deserves special protection. 

I think it is vitally important for the local community in Gulval  (and also the wider neighbourhood) to be made aware of these plans, and also the plans for all development in and around the Gulval area, 

I have been told that the old pig fields by the School have already been cleared for development, and I would like to know how many houses are planned for that site and also what percentage are affordable. 

It surely is for the people in Gulval to decide what is important to them, not the planners.

Below is a map showing the planned development area.

From this you can see that the darker green areas are the phases in which the planners are expecting to develop, this site i.e. the whole of the site facing the approach to Penzance will be covered with housing except for the two fields which surround the telecom mast.   

It is highly important that local people are involved in any decision making at the earliest stages,  whilst the land at Ponsandane can at this moment still only be considered as an exception site, planning policy at the national scale still means that development in such types of sites should only be taken forward if they are deemed acceptable by the local community (and the only way for that to be known and understood is if the general public are made aware and consulted on, and that the Town & Parish Councils agree it will be needed).

Penzance Farmers Market

This afternoon was the AGM of Penzance Farmers Market.  I am very happy to announce that I was voted in to be Chairman for the coming year.

Over the past 5 years, the Penzance Farmer Market has grown into a successful market with its regular Friday Morning Market in front of St Johns Hall, Penzance.

Over the coming year the Market will be facing a number of important issues, the major one being the refurbishment of St John’s Hall in Penzance.

Currently the Market operates in the forecourt of St John’s Hall in clement weather, moving into the Hall itself if the weather is inclement.

From March of next year, the Market will be operating outside in all weathers, not in the forecourt, but alongside the forecourt in the lower part of the car park. This will continue through until October, from October through the winter we have to find a suitable indoor venue, this is something that we are currently investigating.

The good news is that the market is continuing to grow and we are looking at obtaining funding to increase the number of stalls available for stallholders and increased storage space for them.  

To our current customers a big thank you and we will be still trading throughout the redevelopment at St John’s Hall, returning to the forecourt once its complete, and for those who are yet to find us come along on a Friday morning for great local produce.

Planning Applications. Damned Again

Two weeks ago, I wrote a piece on a Planning Application for change of use from a retail shop to a take away. Read ‘Damned if you do Damned if you don't’ here

A bit like buses immediately along comes another one, (this of course does not apply in Cornwall, where the first bus would not arrive).

Again, this is for a change of use Retail to Fast Food Takeaway, this time located in Causewayhead. We also have a little more information it is to be a ‘Greek Fast Food Takeaway’ I think that means a Kebab Shop.

The Planning Committee will face the same issues as to the previous application. Anyone want to be a councillor on the planning committee?

One other application may be of interest, again a change of use, this time from a former fish stores to a two screen cinema, café, bar and accommodation in Newlyn Coombe, just across the road from the Meadery.

I went to an open day put on by the applicant a few weeks ago; it seems a very interesting development.

I don't think there was one person who did not mention where do you park?

A little bit of good news

A little bit of good news, I popped into town yesterday (Penzance), Mrs Pz01 is on holidays so retail all the way.

 I was pleased to see that Lou’s Shoes in Causewayhead have moved. For those who don't know, Lou’s Shoes were based about halfway up Causewayhead, in what must have been the smallest shoe shop in the world, not anymore, they have taken over the old ETS shop at the bottom of Causewayhead and yesterday was opening day, it was full.

Great to see an independent trader prepared, and with the confidence, to expand in these difficult times. I wish them the very best.

Also I see that Olivers Photographic have opened in Market Jew Street, another independent willing to give it a go, again I wish them the very best.  

Just one more thing, I saw this as I made my way up Causewayhead and it just tickled my fancy.

The New Penzance Town Council

Well that’s it then, the people have spoken, the votes have been counted, Penzance Town Council has its councillors for the next 4 years.

Of the 20 councillors who make up the Town Council 8 are new to the job replacing 6 who stood down at this election and 2 who lost their seats.

Although in the past the political make up of the council has never been a factor in decision making, the make up of this council is quite interesting being a bit like Noah’s Ark we have 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 A Future For Penzance, 2 Greens, 2 Labour, 2 Mebyon Kernow and 10 Independents, what no conservatives you may ask? Trust me there’s at least 3 in there.

Of the 8 new councillors I really only know 2 of them, with a nodding acquaintance with 2 of the others. None as far as I can tell have ever held political office before.

I have read all the leaflets and the Facebook pages of those candidates that have them and sadly some are in for a bit of a shock when they actually get down to the work of being a town councillor.

Town Councils have limited amounts of money and even more limited resources, we are not free to do what we want or even what the Town may need, sadly a lot of our time over the past few years has been spent trying to get Cornwall Council to do the right thing and this has been getting increasingly harder as budget cuts bite ever further into spending.

Planning, is probably the area new councillors have the biggest problem getting to grips with, but fundamentally if there is not a ‘Planning Reason’ for objection you can’t object, well you can but it wont get you anywhere.

All in all I'm looking forward to working with the new councillors who will I'm sure bring new ideas to the council, I just hope that their enthusiasm does not get smothered by the rules and regulations within which we do have to work and of which so many people are blissfully unaware.

Penzance its future.

Does Penzance turn down development?

I have read much on social media and in the press claiming that Cornwall Council doesn’t care about Penzance and why is there no development going on in Penzance,  The reply most often heard is that Penzance turns every thing down. Just looking at the recent past this is obviously not the case,

Application to build Hotel, retail outlets and office space at old Gas Works Site.  PzTc in favour.

Application to build Supermarket at Eastern Green. PzTc in favour.

(There is no such thing as a planning application to close a business i.e. The Heliport, that is a commercial decision for the owner. As to the supermarket there are no planning grounds on which to refuse the application)

Application to build 60 retirement flats at Old Gas works Site. Not in Favour.

Application to build Route Partnership Harbour scheme. Not in Favour.

Alternative Harbour schemes. PzTc in favour.

Re-development of Truro & Penwith College. PzTc in favour.

Re-development of St Johns Hall. PzTc in favour.

Skateboard Parks at the Rec. PzTc in favour. At Wherrytown (own scheme) PzTc in favour.

With the exception of the 60 Retirement flats also opposed by Cornwall Council, Penzance Town Council has not opposed any large housing scheme in Penzance.

Alexandra Road, Ocean Blue, Lescudjack Heights etc.

If you believe that the Town Council turned down M&S please read Urban Myth Here.

As can be seen from the above it’s actually a bit of a mixed bag, tending more to development than against, so why are more developments not coming forward. Rather that the presumption that Penzance likes to say no, I think that’s more to do with the fact that Cornwall Council and developers don’t know what Penzance is or wants to be.

From Cornwall Councils point of view, it’s a big town, in the far West that can not be pigeonholed.

If you look at other large towns in Cornwall it’s easy to see what they are and possibly where they are going.

Truro, it’s the administration centre, the courts are based here, offices. Retail. Cornwall Council.

Falmouth, it’s the Docks, University, Boats & Sailing.

Bodmin, mid-Cornwall, distribution.

Newquay, tourism.

Redruth, Pool & Camborne. Manufacturing, industry, offices.

A little simplistic I know but these are the core activities taking place in these towns.

That leaves two large towns St Austell and Penzance both facing similar issues and problems.  Both are suffering from a decline in the core businesses that helped them grow, in St Austell it’s the decline in the China Clay industry, in Penzance its more complex.

Penzance was a large Market Town providing services to the far west of the county, it had the courts, Penwith district council, Hospital, HMRC offices, The Cornishman was printed here, sea & helicopter link to Scilly, Newlyn had the fishing, quarry, Mousehole had fishing and tourism.

But sadly many of these activities have now gone and the rest are much reduced. With the loss of these core activities, the secondary activities of the town also come under pressure with the courts gone there is no requirement for the solicitors and court staff, P.D.C has now become a One Stop Shop and staff levels have fallen from 450 to 190 with this number to be reduced further, West Cornwall Hospital is a shell of its former self, without these jobs the number of people needing the town centre has declined leading to the closure of shops and those business servicing them.

So what is the future for Penzance, it has much to offer, it has a very strong Arts & Culture industry, it is still the principle retail centre for West Cornwall with two streets of independent retailers any town should be proud to have in Causewayhead and Chapel Street. It has three leading public Art Galleries, a Public Park and Garden in the centre of town.

A further presumption is that towns such as Falmouth have overtaken Penzance in retail space, this is not true as can be read here.

Its cafes restaurants and night time economy are strong. It has a large modern College. Its location, architecture and (dare I say it) climate are all extras.

So what are the problems and solutions?

First I think it’s the message, its has to be one message from the same hymn sheet, facts over perceptions.

The town is open, it does want to take part, it is forward looking, it is a great place to be. It has to put out a positive message, not the constant knocking from some quarters, just read some of the election leaflets going around town. 

It must look to the new industries that it can serve and encourage those it has, it is ideally placed to be a centre for design, it needs to encourage and develop its leisure sailing and maritime industries, and by this I don’t mean a bit of a fiddle with the existing harbour, which in truth is too small for its current use, why not push for a brand new Harbour arm doubling the size of the harbour. Support the development of the Quarry into a new harbour space. Look at the positive elements of the town and promote those, think cup half full not half empty.

Does Penzance have problems? Yes it does, can it solve these? Yes it can, the biggest asset the town has is the people who live here, the vast majority of people here are positive, so stop knocking it, promote the Town, shop in its shops and look to the future.

Penzance Harbour Where are we now.

What is happening to plans for Penzance Harbour? You may well ask.

Penzance Town Council took on the job of trying to bring forward a plan for the harbour after the failure of the Route Partnership scheme promoted by Cornwall Council. This is not a job that a town council would normally take on but with the support of the DfT the town council along with others worked up a scheme that had a broad consensus, met the funding criteria, met the time scale required for funding, this scheme was then submitted to Cornwall Council who would have to take it forward from here as the Harbour & Transport Authority and what did Cornwall Council do? They used every delaying tactic they could to ensure the whole scheme missed the funding timetable.         

On Friday 8 March 2013,

The Mayor, Town Clerk, Councillor Pender and the Project Consultant attended, at the request of Cornwall Council, a meeting regarding Cornwall Council's draft Business Plan requested by DfT in respect of Penzance Harbour. Also at the meeting were representatives from DCLG Convergence Programme, Cornwall Council, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the Duchy and Consultants employed by Cornwall Council to draw up the Business Plan on their behalf.

Along with detailed plans for the Harbour at St Marys, works for Penzance were discussed.

These works put forward by Cornwall Council are as follows,

•         A Capital dredge to 1.65m below chart datum to allow not only the Scillonian

           but potential replacement vessels to operate at 2 hours either side of high tide.

•         A study into 3 options surrounding Rock Armouring of the South Pier these being

1.              No rock armour

2.              Partial rock armour; and

3.              Continuous rock armour

•     Highway improvements to include a pull-in lay-by for coaches.

The Penzance Town Council representatives strongly advised that the proposals for rock armour were those arising from Cornwall Council alone and reiterated their previous decision that an engineering justification would need to be forthcoming before any further position could be taken by the Town Council. Cornwall Council advised that the Minister for Transport would be making any final decision on the need for rock armour.

The Penzance Town Council delegation expressed their disappointment that their fully worked up and widely consulted scheme was not being taken forward.

Cornwall Councils view on this was that they were taking forward a scheme that would protect the viability of the link within the funding envelope from Convergence funding.

Given this response, the Town Council delegation requested a commitment from Cornwall Council to implement their scheme incrementally when new funding was available from Europe.

This draft Business Plan is currently with DfT for feedback and comment and any developments will be reported to the Town Council in the future.

Update: 27th April
Cornwall Council have so far failed to submit its Business Plan to DfT, again missing a deadline and thus delaying further any development.

Update: 30th May
Cornwall Council have now released their draft Business Plan as submitted to DfT, the full document running to over 300 pages, unfortunately the links to this document, supplied by Cornwall Council are currently not working, the Key message document can be read here....... St Mary's & Penzance Harbour proposals - key messages - Cornwall Council - Revision 2 - May 2013

Update: 17th June

On Monday Penzance Town Council held a Special meeting  to discuss the Town Councils response to Penzance Harbour plans put forward by Cornwall Council. The recommendation put to the council is that laid out below.

Response to Cornwall Council’s submission to the Department for Transport in respect of the Isles of Scilly Link.

It was Recommended that:

1. Penzance Town council fully supports the development of the proposals at St Mary’s Harbour.

2. Penzance Town council fully supports the Capital Dredge of Penzance Harbour as proposed by Cornwall Council.

3. Penzance Town Council supports the initial highways improvements as proposed by Cornwall Council.

4. Penzance Town Council would not object to limited protection of the South/Lighthouse pier if proposed by Cornwall Council and should the Minister of Transport deem the works operationally essential. Any such should not jeopardise the future development of the harbour specifically the placement of a breakwater.

5. Penzance Town Council does not support full Rock Armouring of the South/Lighthouse pair.

6. Penzance Town Council welcomes the opportunity presented to it by Cornwall Council to continue to work together on the development of the Harbour and specifically improved passenger and freight handling facilities.

Six recommendations for the Council to consider, well no, only one, as the Mayor acting as Chairman stated it was a single recommendation. There was no vote on this, and councillors were told they would be able to speak only once.

I think it reasonable to assume that most people would not object to No’s 1, 2, 3 or 6. But what about No’s 4 and 5?

I think it is wrong to lump a group of recommendations together, forcing councillors to vote against something they are in favour of, if they are opposed to something else in the recommendation.

There was a limited debate all concerning Rock Amour.

I am against rock armouring, full or limited, as, so far, I have seen no engineering justification for it, the latest report on the Harbour commissioned by Cornwall Council, also doubts its value. Recommendation 4 hands the decision to Cornwall Council (It was they who proposed Rock Armor in the first place) and so takes it out of the Towns hands.

Even limited Rock armour will stop any maintenance in the areas of the pier against which rock armour has been placed, or add to the cost of that maintenance massively. Rock Armour is also without doubt the ugliest solution. 

Sadly I could not vote for this recommendation, even though in favour of all the recommendations except Number 4. The recommendation was passed.

   

Shock, I've not been a Councillor for South Ward for the past 10 Years.

I’ve just got back from Town where I had gone to do a few jobs, whilst there I popped into the Town Council Office, which lead to a bit of a shock (not good in my condition, no I’m not pregnant).

In the office are the candidate packs for the upcoming town and parish elections and talking to the staff I discovered that I’m not a South Ward Councillor for Penzance Town Council.

Now before everyone rushes off to read the various website postings to see what I allegedly have voted for or against, (funny how so many seem to think they know what I said or didn’t say all without the benefit of ever going to a meeting), over the past 14 years in the hope of getting the decision overturned, I’m still a councillor only not for South Ward, as much to the surprise of the office staff and I’m sure councillors, South Ward changed its name over 10 years ago. I’ve been a councillor for the Newlyn & Mousehole Ward.

As a councillor I will be honest some things slip past my attention, not much and never anything of importance, but you would have thought I might have noticed that my ward had changed its name? All my paperwork still arrives with South Ward printed on it, Cornwall Council refers to it as South Ward, the maps refer to it as South Ward only its not. Back in 2002 in a consultation it was decided to change its name, so there we are.

Now the more serious reason for this post, from the election papers the Town council have received we have discovered that some changes have taken place, that genuinely no one knew about, Newlyn & Mousehole Ward (South Ward) has had its number of councillors cut from 5 to 4, and this is the very first anyone had heard of it and its not just this ward, Promenade Ward has an increase of 1 as does Central Ward with the East Ward  also losing 1 but Gulval Ward which has had a boundary change doubling the number of people in the ward remains with only 1 councillor. These changes are apparently the result of the Boundary Commission report, at no time was the Town Council ever consulted or any contact made with the council during the preparation of this report, no contact from the Commission or Cornwall Council what so ever. I wonder how many other Town & Parish councils got a surprise when they received the Election Packs.

PS I didn’t pick up a pack. 

Penzance Retail Space

Sat at home last night in front of the computer, after a couple of meetings, a photograph of a document was posted on Twitter by @Tweet_Bus, for which I thank him. The document caused a little comment and some deal of surprise. 

The document has been produced for the group opposing the huge development planned at Coyte Farm, St Austell, @StopCoyteFarm .

What the document shows is the Total Occupied Retail Floorspace of major towns in Cornwall; this is then broken down into ‘Convenience Goods’ and ‘Comparison Goods’.

Convenience Goods are defined as ‘These are widely distributed and relatively inexpensive goods which are purchased frequently and with minimum of effort, such as petrol, newspapers, and most grocery items.’ To most people the stuff you tend to buy at a Supermarket regularly.

Comparison Goods are defined as 'non perishable' goods for retail sale which are often stocked in a wide range of sizes, styles, colours and qualities, including furniture, carpets, televisions, clothing etc.’

The surprise for many perhaps is that Penzance has the second largest amount of retail space in Cornwall, only Truro has more.

It should also be noted that on the list of Convenience Goods retail space Penzance comes forth (4) beaten by Truro, Newquay and Camborne and by some margin, so even with the soon to be built Sainsbury’s supermarket, Penzance will not move up this list.

For Comparison Goods, Penzance easily comes second, only beaten by Truro.

Interesting reading and a set of numbers I've not seen before.

Chapel Street, Penzance

I’ve written in the past about Causwayhead in Penzance (Here) and what a great shopping street it is, full of independent shops, its now the turn of Chapel Street in Penzance, what brought this on is the publication this week of its own guide ‘Historic Chapel Street’ and what a great guide it is.

Within it details the 39 yes, 39 Specialist Shops and Services it has to offer as well as a small section on Exploring the street and its many Historic Buildings, also a simple map, so a big well done to the Chapel Street traders for this fine publication.

I’m pleased to say that just before Christmas I brought a book from one of these Independent shops, written by a local author and published locally, now that really is shopping local.

http://www.chapelstreet.co.uk

Penzance M & S Urban Myth

A few weeks ago in the Cornishman Dick Cliffe, the chairman of Penzance Camber of Commerce repeated what is probably the most common Urban Myth in Penzance,

‘Marks & Spencer tried to open a store in Penzance and it was turned down’.

Repeated in the letters page last week 21 March by Mr Winterbourne.

How can I say it’s an Urban Myth when we all know it’s true? Well as far as I can find out, it simply isn't,

I've been a councillor for over 14 years and lived in the town for nearly 40 years and I have heard this story so many times even I was beginning to believe it.

Its most recent incarnation was when the retail park on the A30 outside of Hayle was being built, ” M & S wanted to build in Penzance, but the town didn't want it. “

Rubbish, at no time did M & S approach the town with any plans to build in the town, the plans for the retail park were put forward by the then Penwith District Council and M & S was a key part of that plan from the start, at no time was it even considered to be built at Penzance.

The time before that was as the Wharfside Shopping development took place and the usual rumour mill swung into action “M & S” are going into the development, in truth it was talked about as a hope but no approach was ever made by M & S, the developer I'm sure approached them, but nothing ever came of it, I believe as the site was to small for what they would have required.

Now moving back before my time on the council I spoke with a fellow councillor of well over twenty five years, active on both  the town and District councils, and he confirmed that during his time M & S had never approached the council and no plans had ever been discussed or application made.

Going further back in time, I have spoken with a former councillor who was a member of the then Borough Council back in the 70’s & 80’s and once again at no time did M & S make any approach to the town.

So that’s the last 40 years covered I'm now looking into the 50’s  & 60’s but have so far found no evidence of any approach or application being made. 

There is also one other consideration that people should bear in mind,  Town Councils have no powers 'what so ever to' determine which shops open or close, if there is a retail shop premises in the town and you wish to move into it and open as a retail shop, there is no requirement for planning permission, no need to inform anyone, you just open (may be a requirement for planning permission to change signage). 

If every shop in Market Jew Street decided to become a Mobile Phone shop, that would be a commercial decision for the shop keepers. The town of Hay on Why, population 1500 has 35 bookshops. 

I should also mention that the same Urban Myth regarding M & S circulates in St Austell. 

Causewayhead Penzance- Probably the best Independent Trading Street in Cornwall

On Saturday as a Jubilee treat for the current Mrs Pz01, we popped into Penzance for a bit of retail and Causewayhead it was.

Iv’ heard it all over the past few years as a councillor, Penzance is dead, there are no shops and it’s a mess, why don’t you do something.

Well something has been going on and a lot of it in Causewayhead, it’s new automatic bollard is now in place (more about this later), as part of the “Cornishman” Go to Town campaign, traders, councillors, members of the public and members of the Penzance Community Flora Group all turned up on a Sunday morning and gave it a bit of a spring clean, read more about this here…..Go To Town

So the street has had a weed, street furniture painted and flower beds filled, but what about the shops, well how many shops do you think are in Causewayhead?

Take a guess …. 40, 50

You’re wrong in fact there are over 90, yes 90 and the vast majority are Independent   

90 Independent shops, most towns would be pleased to see this number in their town let alone one street. Soon the revived Charter Market will be back at the top of the street so even more reason to visit.

So back to our shopping trip, the sun was shining and Causewayhead was busy, but for a change busy with people, no cars, no vans just people and it was great. Talking to the traders the much maligned bollard was the reason, cars no longer use the street as a short cut,  no delivery vehicles on a Saturday, just room to walk and enjoy and enjoy it we did, the whole street looked a picture, fruit and flowers outside shops, shop doorways with plants either side, after a haircut, new earrings for Mrs Pz01 and a few other bits and pieces we sat down in the excellent Waves and had a coffee.

So next time you want to take a pop at Penzance, take a walk up Causewayhead and

look around.

So congratulations to The Causewayhead Traders Association, Penzance Community Flora Group and all those who helped make Causewayhead - Probably the best Independent Trading Street in Cornwall

Ps. I notice that the old Threshers is being refurbished new tenants moving in soon.

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.  

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. 

Sainsbury’s Sec 106 Update

Sainsbury’s Sec 106 Update

I have blogged before about the Sec 106 agreement for Penzance here, and what a bad deal it was for the town, in brief, out of the £1,935,315 that was on offer, only £15,000 went to the town directly.

Since this offer was put to the town by a joint team from Sainsbury’s and Cornwall Council, the Town Council has held meetings to discuss the proposals, with a different set of officers from Cornwall Council assisting with the legal aspects and other issues, following these meeting a different set of proposals were agreed to be put forward. At a further meeting between Sainsbury’s and first set of officers, these revised options were put forward.

Park & Ride

Original offer:

 Dedication of Land for 250 space Park & Ride site with access through store site and £1.2m to construct the Park and Ride.

Revised Offer:

Safeguard land for a 250 space Park & Ride site for a period of 5 years and the contribution of £1.2m (BCI Indexed) to construct the facilities either on site or within the area.

Explanation:

This revised offer provides for the facility to be delivered but enables time to establish, as part of a wider transport strategy for Penzance, if the site is the right location and best park and ride solution for Penzance.

Justification/Background: 

The need for a Park and Ride was originally identified in the Penwith Parking Solutions Report 2005; and subsequently in the Aecom Study (2010) and the draft Penzance and Newlyn Framework (2011).

The above is very important, as I don’t think many people realise that when you go along to one of Cornwall Councils “Consultations” and look at the pretty maps, and fill in the loaded questionnaire, what happens next. Your views are added into a report, report accepted by Cornwall Council, that’s it, you have agreed that Penzance needs a Park & Ride, all the sites identified as being possible for development are now development sites, developer comes forward with application, outcry from everyone, but because you did not object at the “Consultation” you have already agreed to it, it’s in the plan. So when you go to a “Consultations” ( very few do) look at what it is you are agreeing to.

Park and Ride facilities encourage more people to make trips by bus.

 In addition to this proposed facility, there is a proposal to consider the feasibility of providing a Park and Ride facility at Eastern Green which forms part of the draft Penzance and Newlyn Framework (2011).

The Park and Ride site would be targeted at longer term parkers such as employees, day-trippers and ferry passengers thus freeing up parking capacity for short term parkers such as shoppers and other users of the town centre.

The siteing of a P&R at Eastern Green could also provide the option of walking or cycling along the beachfront into the town centre. However its final location and introduction should be part of a wider strategy that has considered complementary actions such as: rationalising parking in central Penzance, establishing a residents parking scheme and a public parking pricing strategy designed to increase the sustainability of the park and ride and discourage inappropriate long-stay parking in and around the town centre particularly the impact of employee car parking within the existing residential areas which will be achieved through the draft Penzance and Newlyn Framework (2011).

Pros: 

• The revised offer provides for the delivery of the facility but offers flexibility in its execution.
• It fits well with the proposed Transport strategy within the draft Penzance and Newlyn Framework (2011).
• Opportunities to support other town centre initiatives/developments
• Potential to alleviate existing parking pressure in Penzance
• Replaces ad-hoc and unmanaged parking solutions within the town to enable economic and regeneration benefits.
• Existing scheduled bus services provided by First and Western Greyhound pass the site
• Site offered is accessible and available on the main approach to town
• Development provides new destination which should be attractive to commercial bus operators
• The Section 106 offer allows flexibility over delivery.

Cons: 

• Early implementation would rely on current bus service level which might not meet target users needs
• Will require strong marketing and support to ensure people use it.

Bus Stops & link Jelbert way

Original Offer: 

Contribution of £213,000 to cover cost of constructing bus stops and pedestrian link between store and

Jelbert Way

Revised offer:

Contribution to cover cost of new bus shelters, pedestrian link and real time information. Savings achieved (to be confirmed by Sainsbury’s £150K) from not constructing lay-bys.

Opportunity for funding to be transferred to other town centre mitigation measures.

Bus Fares

Offer: 

Contribution of £75,315 to subsidise reduced fare stage on buses between site and town centre for a 15 year period

Revised Offer:

£75,315 to subsidise a reduced fair stage from Lugvan to Penzance via Eastern Green and return.

This bus route is under threat, part of the proposed Sainsbury development falls within Lugvan Parish. Will enable people from Lugvan/Longrock to access Penzance Town Centre on a subsidised bus route.

Linkage Improvements Offer: 

Contribution of £225,000 to cover costs of linkage improvements on A30

Current Position: Financial offer remains same but Sainsbury’s to revise proposals to focus on changing environment on A30. e.g reduction of  carriageway widths and provision of better pedestrian links along carriageway to enable reduction in speed limit.

Justification/Background: 

Approach to Penzance is widely accepted to be very poor.

The carriageway looks like an urban motorway with little thought or space given to pedestrians and other users. 

The Framework seeks to create a prominent “boulevard” with enhanced pedestrian, cycling and landscaping features to improve the environment and provide a high quality gateway into Penzance enticing visitors into the town rather than past it.

Pros:

• Proposed reduction in speed from 50 to 30mph between Branwell Roundabout and new store roundabout.
• Improved safety and environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Initiates the transformation of the entrance to Penzance.
• First phase towards significant environmental and visual improvements.
• Better pedestrian and cycle routes improve sustainability and health.

Cons:

• Funding proposed would not deliver the complete transformational change envisioned for all of the A30.
• Will require further contributions from other development and sources to improve whole length between Bramwells and Chy-an-Mor.

Replacement Signage

Offer: 

Contribution of £20,000 for replacement signage as required by Highways Agency

Current position:

Highways Agency to advise if costs can be reduced and if so any savings to be savings to be transferred to other mitigation measures.

Justification/Background: 

Signage on the A30 Trunk Road currently directs users to the Heliport site. The loss of the service from the site means these signs will need to be modified. This is a must do requirement.

Pros:

• Required to properly inform traffic users

Cons:

• This is a development cost  rather than of wider public benefit

Contribution to Business Improvement District (BID) Set Up

Offer: 

Contribution of £35,000

Revised Offer:

Contribution of £35,000 to be used to enhance the vitality and viability of the town centre through alternative means.

Justification/Background:

 BID identified by Stakeholders as appropriate. 

It may however be beneficial to review all options available to boost the town centre; alternate opportunities need to be allowed for in the audit of how the contribution is utilised.

Pros:

• A degree of flexibility exists over how the £35,000 is used to enhance the vitality and viability of the town centre.
• A BID could be an option
• Intended to be self financing after start up
• Intended to provide a wider impact than a town centre manager function
• Shown to be successful in other Cornish towns
• Led by local businesses
• Other options need to fully explored first to maximise the effectiveness of the whole town centre contributions package.

Cons:

• Funding will have to be identified to a specific activity that is CIL  compliant
• Need to gain support from local businesses.

Subsidised Town Centre Car Parking

Offer: 

Contribution of £152,000

Current offer:

Contribution of £152,000

Flexibility over the timing and use of the contribution to allow the Town to develop a strategy to secure the maximum benefit from the contribution.

Justification/Background:

Most popular element from Stakeholder meeting.

Based on previous events this would allow up to 19 full day free parking events across all car parks in the town centre. Alternate mixes could include a focus on specific car parks such as Causeway Head which would enable the funding the be used on more days.

Pros:

• Popular
• Can significantly boost town centre trade especially if used strategically and in conjunction with other town centre events, activities and marketing
• Within Councils control – has backing from Cornwall Councils Community Transport Manager.

Cons:

• Expensive and will only support  a number of events
• Requires advertising to be effective

Specialist Advice and Support to Penzance Town Council

Offer:

Contribution of £15,000 for Penzance Town Council to promote the vitality and viability of town centre.

Revised Offer:

Contribution of £15,000 remains but scope widened over funding use providing it remains CIL compliant.

Justification/Background: 

Opportunity for Town Council to have access to technical expertise to help develop strategies and initiatives.

Pros:

• Expertise can be invaluable and prevent pitfalls
• Raises and focuses awareness of potential current opportunities

Cons:

• Lack of support from Town Council
• Needs a clearer focus on delivery of practical benefits that will help enhance the town centre rather than focusing on strategies or reports for reports sake.

From the above you can see that this is a major change in the proposals, Sainsbury’s are currently talking to their legal team to ensure that these revised proposals meet all the requirements of a Sec 106 (Cil) agreement, and are robust enough to withstand a legal challenge from other developers.