After the excitement of the Shipyard application being live and open for comment; brace yourself for another one. This time it is a re-submission of thee timber shelters and kiosks in the location of what is being named at Harbour Head Terrace.

The official planning application number is PA17/00847. The documents can be found HERE.

The plan for Harbour Head Terrace

In the Design, Access and Heritage statement it says:

“At the centre of the proposals is the desire to enhance the communal enjoyment of the Harbour Head, the harbour itself, and the popular views of the harbour and notable buildings. The proposals offer an appropriate and sustainable use of the Harbour Head Terrace for the long-term benefit of the local community and wider area. The Heritage Impact Assessment produced for the purposes of the application outline the conservation principles which are to:

• Improve views of the inner and outer harbour by providing an appropriate public space;
• Enhance the communal and aesthetic heritage value of the Harbour Head; • Bring sustainable new uses to the existing Harbour Head.
• Enhance the Harbour Character Area identified within the Conservation Area.”

It goes on to say:

“Alongside this, there are clear objectives regarding benefits to the local economy which are to:

• Promote permeability, activity in the local and wider area;
• Promote local arts, crafts and trades to exhibit and trade in the local area;
• Support local events, markets, concerts, and festivals;
• Promote regeneration in the local and wider area.”

All the document information can be read HERE. You can also make comment online, or like the Shipyard application at one of the applicants consultation events, If you cannot make either of those events, you can officially comment to Cornwall Council and/or Porthleven TC.

The proposed design of the sheds

We will begin the process by consulting on our emerging vision and the strategic priorities for the future of the industries, through the form of a food, farming and fishing green paper which will be published in due course.

We will seek to agree a UK approach to the negotiations and ensure we get the best possible deal for the whole of the UK. We have committed to carefully considering any proposals the devolved administrations put forward. Defra Ministers have visited each of the devolved administrations to meet with Ministers and stakeholders.

The current workstreams within Defra’s EU Exit Programme are: EU Negotiations; Trade; Devolution; Repeal Bill, Future Agriculture and Land Use, Fisheries; Environment, and Animal and Plant Health. As the EU Exit Programme progresses, the workstreams may change as they are dynamic and under regular review. The workstreams in our EU Exit Programme are carrying out detailed analysis of the implications and opportunities presented by EU Exit.

Across the eight work streams, the Department’s EU Exit Programme is carrying out detailed analysis of the implications and opportunities presented by EU Exit. This work will support the Prime Minister’s 12 negotiating objectives and the achievement of our vision to unlock the potential of farming and fisheries as well as ensuring that we leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

It is our intention to shortly publish our 25 Year Food, Farming and Fishing, and Environment Green Papers, initiating a debate with all of Defra’s sectors and stakeholders, along with the wider public, to shape plans that will deliver genuine and lasting change for food, farming, fishing and the environment once we are outside the EU.

Defra is committed to developing a 25 year food and farming plan, which will set out a new vision for UK food and farming outside of the EU. It will be published in due course.

Civil servants have to have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams. Passes can also be issued to contractors or secondees based within Government premises on a case by case basis in regards to specific business needs. Numbers of passes issued directly to non-civil servants for access to departmental buildings will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Defra is planning to publish two Green Papers, one on our 25 year plan for the environment, and one on our 25 year plan for food, farming and fisheries. The Department is considering options for legislative and non-legislative measures to achieve a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, including through the Great Repeal Bill. We will confirm plans in due course.

The commercial data was extracted from the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) and the pet data was taken from APHA’s system for recording pets entering the UK, based on information provided by pet checkers.

In some cases imports are recorded on TRACES as “Canis familiaris / Felis catus”, so APHA are unable to distinguish between cat or dog imports. These are included on the table in row “Mixed cats/dogs”.

Pets

Commercial

Dogs

275,876

34,017

Cats

24,145

2,572

Ferrets

129

0

Mixed cats/dogs

N/A

327

The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb

Earning levels for the lowest paid employees are not publically available.

Drum-roll….

The planning application for the new building located in what is commonly known as the Shipyard is now live after it has been validated and has an official planning reference number. I am sure this application will be of interest to those near and far; as it is quite a fundamental change to what is currently located in the Shipyard.

The planning reference number is PA17/00573 and all the detail on the application can be found HERE.

There has been a pre-application on this proposal and Cornwall Council gave advice and whilst “there is support in principle from a planning perspective for development within this area of the Shipyard”. However, the Council’s advice raised a number of issues that needed to addressed

• There is potential conflict in views from the harbour towards the town between the building proposed and the Grade II* Methodist Chapel.
• The loss of the historic wall to the West of the site to facilitate access by service and good vehicles has potential to result in the loss of significant element of historic fabric”
• The site lies within Flood Zone 3” The proposed finish floor level of the ground floor is raised to 7.00m which is similar to the adjacent building to the west.

In the Design, Access and Heritage Statement (Click HERE), it says these concerns have been addressed.

My advice would be for everyone to read the planning documents, attend the public consultation arranged by the applicant, and take part in the official public consultation (which is live now) making your views know to both Cornwall Council and Porthleven Town Council.

The building elevations

Layout of the Shipyard Building

Three-years ago, Porthleven was hit by a series of storms that did serious damage to the harbour infrastructure, including smashing the baulks that protect the inner-harbour. The loss of the baulks resulted in boats being at the mercy of the raging sea and several were sunk on their moorings (blog posts HERE).

Roll-on almost three-years to the day, Porthleven was again hit by ‘Storm’ Doris, which whilst not the same intensity as previous storms, it was still powerful with huge swells and waves hitting the coastline. Damage was limited, but one of the baulks that protect the inner-harbour was split.

However, this weekend was the start of a series of fund-raisers for The Fishermen’s Mission. In a stroke of genius, the smashed baulks from three-years ago, are being painted, carved, printed etc. by various local and nationally celebrated artists and craft persons. These pieces of work, will be auctioned at a special event on the 18th March. More details can be found on Facebook HERE and on the Fishermen’s Mission site HERE.

The first fund-raiser was an evening of entertainment by the Cornish comic Kernow King. He entertained over 150 people in Porthleven’s Public Hall. In an amazing token of generosity, Kernow King waved his fee, and therefore, over £1000 was raised from this one event alone.

Getting ready for Kernow King

One of the artists work being projected onto the Bickford-Smith Institute

This Friday, the Monitoring Officer (top legal bod) has sent an email to all Cornwall Councillors informing them that the decision made by Cornwall Council’s Cabinet on allocating £536k to the EU Capital of Culture bid has been ‘called in’ as follows:

I am writing to formally advise you that I have agreed to the Request For Call-In in respect of the Cabinet decision regarding the EU Capital of Culture Bid on 25 January.

The Grounds for call-in were that:

• That there has been inadequate consultation with stakeholders prior to the decision being made; and

• That there was inadequate evidence on which to base a decision and that not all relevant matters were taken into account.

It is anticipated that the Call-in will be considered at the Scrutiny Management Committee which is already scheduled for 14 February.

This Call-in power is one all Councillors can exercise if they disagree with a decision. This power is not lightly used, and therefore, this is a serious challenge to the decision. Any Call-in has to have strong ground, which also have to meet certain legal requirements.

The points of the Call-in will be discussed at the Scrutiny Management Committee who will examine all the points surrounding this decision. From this, the committee can recommend either to uphold the original decision or to vary it in some way. If there is a change it will be referred back to Cabinet with a recommendation which the Cabinet can ignore or accept. If no change, the original decision is acted upon. I can imagine this committee meeting will be one of the most well attended…

This Call-in puts the short timescale for the Capital of Culture bid under even more pressure, as nothing official can happen with the bid until such times as the Cabinet has dealt with the Call-in.

My views on the bid are exactly the same as when I voted against the recommendation at the last Cabinet HERE.

Cornwall Council and the Met Office have today issued a storm warning in reference to Storm Doris. This storm will bring strong winds and heavy rain to Cornwall today, Thursday and during Friday. Cornwall Council is warning residents to be prepared and take precautions where necessary.

The latest information from the MET Office and the Environment Agency is for the wettest weather to move across Cornwall on Thursday, with the highest winds expected on Friday.  There is currently a Met Office weather wind warning in force, for Friday, with the risk of high winds across coasts and hills and large waves along southern coasts.

Porthleven today, Thursday

Porthleven today, Thursday

Between 10 and 40mm of rain are expected to fall on parts of Cornwall on Thursday, with Gale Force 8 winds expected early to mid afternoon, before the wind slowly eases by early evening.

There are two peaks of strong winds expected on Friday –the first arriving late morning to mid-afternoon, followed by the second peak during mid-afternoon to early evening.

The winds will be at their strongest across the Isles of Scilly and the southern coasts of Cornwall, and around hills during these peaks, ranging from Gale Force 8 up to Gale Force 9 on occasions, with gusts of between 50-65mph,and possibly up to 70mph.  These winds may cause some travel disruption – particularly on exposed bridges and high sided vehicles, as well as potential disruption to air and ferry travel  There is also the risk of damage to trees and potential disruption to power supplies, as well as the risk of injury from flying debris , such as bins, bins, fences and trampolines and temporary structures.

The strong winds are likely to be accompanied by large waves, especially around the Isles of Scilly, and the southern coasts of Cornwall, like Porthleven which may present a hazard to the public on beaches, sea walls, piers and promenades, especially at high tides.

All the agencies are monitoring the situation closely and are on standby to act if the situation deteriorates. For further advice on preparing for flooding is available on the Cornwall Council website at www.cornwall.gov.uk/flooding

Be safe during this weather front. If you are going to ‘wave watch’ please do this from a safe place as you not only endanger your life, but you put at risk the lives of the emergency and rescue services who will attempt to save you.

Not like this idiot…..

Idiot from 2014

EU funding for the promotion of agricultural products is available to all member states and will continue to be available until the UK’s exit from the European Union.

We are determined to get the best deal for Britain, including for our food and farming industry which generates over £110 billion a year for our economy.

We will need to consider our longer-term approach to funding as part of a future domestic agricultural policy and we will ensure we consult with stakeholders in relation to any future scheme for the UK.

According to the latest HMRC trade data, the provisional value of UK exports of food & drink to the EU for the 12 month period December 2015 to November 2016 was £11.8 billion.

Approximately 50% (£5.9 billion) of these exports were raw or lightly-processed goods related to the agricultural sector. The remaining 50% of exports were highly-processed goods related to the food & drink manufacturing sector.

Agricultural trade data is not available for the geographic detail requested in parts (a) and (b).

The numbers of cases of avian influenza confirmed in domestic flocks in England and Wales, by year and month in the last 24 months up to and including 31/01/2017, are shown in the table below. In addition the numbers of positive cases found in wild birds in England and Wales are shown.

Year

Month

Cases in Domestic Flocks

Cases in Wild Birds

2015

January

1

2015

July

1

2016

August

1

2016

December

1

7

2017

January

7

10

The Government has taken swift action to limit the spread of avian influenza, with restrictions around affected premises and wider measures in place across the country. These measures included increasing the sensitivity of the surveillance that is undertaken around wetland areas by key partners due to the increased prevalence of H5N8 in Europe.

To reduce the risk of bird flu spreading from bird to bird there is currently a requirement for all poultry keepers, even those who just keep a few birds as pets, to take all practicable and appropriate steps to keep their birds housed or otherwise separate from wild birds. There is also a ban on poultry gatherings.

Bird flu is also transmitted via the environment, for example in wild bird droppings, and it is vital that keepers practice strict biosecurity.

The numbers of cases of avian influenza confirmed in domestic flocks in England and Wales, by year and month in the last 24 months up to and including 31/01/2017, are shown in the table below. In addition the numbers of positive cases found in wild birds in England and Wales are shown.

Year

Month

Cases in Domestic Flocks

Cases in Wild Birds

2015

January

1

2015

July

1

2016

August

1

2016

December

1

7

2017

January

7

10

The Government has taken swift action to limit the spread of avian influenza, with restrictions around affected premises and wider measures in place across the country. These measures included increasing the sensitivity of the surveillance that is undertaken around wetland areas by key partners due to the increased prevalence of H5N8 in Europe.

To reduce the risk of bird flu spreading from bird to bird there is currently a requirement for all poultry keepers, even those who just keep a few birds as pets, to take all practicable and appropriate steps to keep their birds housed or otherwise separate from wild birds. There is also a ban on poultry gatherings.

Bird flu is also transmitted via the environment, for example in wild bird droppings, and it is vital that keepers practice strict biosecurity.

Porthleven Harbour and Dock Company are holding two periods of public consultation in reference to two planning applications they have submitted. The first is a building in the Shipyard and the second is three structures on what is being called Harbour Head Terrace.

I am sure people will remember a previous pre-application for the Shipyard building and how there was concern about the use of this building. This pre-app never progressed to a full planning application. This time a planning application has been submitted (not yet validated yet) for a shop/cafe and office space.

The second application is for is for a re-submission of three structures on Harbour Head Terrace. This was previously withdrawn by the application due to concerns from the Conservation Officer.

This public consultation is arranged by the applicant. The applications will still be subject to the official consultation by Cornwall Council and Porthleven Town Council. This will be where anyone who wants to support or object to these applications can make their views know.

This event is listed on What’s on in Porthleven – HERE