Newsletter of January 2001

Members Voice Their Concerns

This photograph was taken in June 2006 and shows the renovated Princess Pavillion.

The state of the pavillion has been a cause for concern.

Falmouth Civic Society held an open meeting last September at the Women’s Institute, Webber Street which was well attended by members and visitors. After introductory remarks by the chairman, Robin Momber, committee member Brinley Morris gave an interesting talk about the formation of the Civic Society in the early 1970s and the issues in which it had been involved throughout the following years.

 

After a break for refreshments committee members divided attendees into discussion groups. No fixed agenda was provided for the groups; the intention being that members should focus upon the issues that concerned them or that had been brought to their attention. However, a list of possible topics was provided to aid discussion if necessary.

 

Issues ranged over pedestrianisation of the main streets, car parking, the state of Princess Pavilion through to the poor state of repair of certain buildings, the dirty condition of the town and failures in the Town Planning process. Many people thought that the Prince of Wales pier was a great asset but believed that it needed repair and improvement A report on the issues that were raised in the discussion groups has been passed to the local authorities, and we hope that they will take on board many of these matters. At a later meeting we will revisit the various items of concern to see whether any changes or improvements have been made

Planning Applications

At the open meeting in September some members felt that the planning process was not as open as it should be and that it was not always easy to discern the reasons behind planning decisions. Please note that copies of planning applications should be on deposit at the One-Stop office of Carrick District Council in Church Street, and objections can be made to the Chief Planning Officer. However, the Civic Society is a recognised body by Carrick District Council when it comes to notification of planning applications and appeals, so members may wish to advise the Secretary of their objections in respect of any applications of concern.

 

Town Has Its Say On Harbourside Proposals

 

The Town Centre Forum, of which the Civic Society is a member, held a “Harbourside Day 2” at Prince of Wales Pier on Saturday the 21 st October last to ascertain the public’s views on possible development of the Falmouth harbourside between the Pier and Upton Slip. The Forum wanted the public to provide some guidance upon such issues as the depth to which any development should extend into the harbour and the preferred location for the main short stay car park.

Harbourside Day 2 comprised an exhibition of five options for development (layouts) ranging from a pedestrian walkway to a major development extending beyond Prince of Wales Pier with a sub-surface car park accessed across the entrance to the Pier, all of which were shown on computer generated drawings. The exhibition also described car parking options, and the public were invited to rank the development and car parking options in order of preference/acceptability. In addition, a video giving further illustration of the possible layouts was shown, and the ramifications of the options were set out on a display board. Following the Harbourside Day 2, the exhibition was taken around local education premises and the neighbouring villages. At each location the public was invited to complete a questionnaire indicating their preferences.

The results of the questionnaires were submitted by the Forum to Carrick District Council who have issued the results to members of the Forum and to the Press. These show that of the layouts the first choice amongst those persons completing the questionnaires was Option 4 which comprised a wide promenade with sub-surface car park accessed across Prince of Wales Pier. This option attracted 527 votes with Option 1, which was the preferred choice of the Committee of the Civic Society, coming second with 472 votes. Option 5, the layout extending beyond Prince of Wales Pier with sub-surface car parking came third with 448 votes. Layout Options 2 (wide pedestrian only promenade) and 3 (new road to existing car park) received 352 and 252 votes respectively.

In respect of car parking, Option 1, which involved closing Church Street car park and building a deck at the Quarry (and was supported by your Committee), was the overwhelming first choice with 728 votes. The second choice was Option 2 being an underground car park at the harbourside with 448 votes. Options 3 (deck at the Quarry plus new car park at the harbourside) and 4 (new road to existing car park) received 397 and 287 votes respectively.

The total number of questionnaires completed was 2070 out of a total population for the whole area consulted in excess of 20,000.

The results of the public consultation will be passed to interested parties, but it is clear that there is no consensus within the town as to the scale and contents of an harbourside development. The Forum now has to decide how to proceed with this issue and whether to turn its focus onto other matters where consensus may be achieved.

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