Thursday 10 May 2012

Meeting – May 2012

9 May 2012 at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Neighbourhood Plan 
The idea of producing a Neighbourhood Plan had still not been resolved. A Plan could provide a third layer of planning below the Core Strategy and Local Development Framework and would be a material consideration in planning applications. A great benefit would be that it would be bottom-up rather than top-down: led by the Town Council rather than Cornwall Council. It would take time and would need to be put to a local referendum which would, ideally, be timed to coincide with some other voting process in the community (eg the May local elections in 2013).

If a Neighbourhood Plan were produced then the updating of the Community Plan could be incorporated into it to tackle the community, rather than urban planning, issues. If not, then there would be a need to update the Community Plan.

The Forum supported the idea of producing a Plan but matters had not progressed significantly since the discussions in March as the Town Council still appeared undecided on whether to support the idea.

Cycling proposals
Cornwall Council had put forward some proposals for new walking/cycling routes around the town as part of their implementation of Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3 in the jargon). These had had a mixed reception as no one had known that the proposals were being worked up and the reasoning and strategy had not been explained.

Things were now being clarified. The proposal was to help achieve a modal shift in behaviour amongst commuters in Falmouth and Penryn. Members were invited to comment on the generality of the ideas, suggesting alternative uses for the money to achieve the same objective: covered storage, new crossings, bike racks etc. Comments are required by the end of May. Cornwall Council will then summarise the proposals and consult on the implementation, scheme by scheme.

Town Manager and BID updates
Congratulations to the Falmouth Gig Club on their World Championship successes for both Men and Ladies. Commiserations to the Falmouth Beach Hotel.

The main activities highlighted were
  • The Finn Festival which was currently happening out of the Watersports Centre
  • The Olympic Torch Relay which would be arriving on Saturday 19 May
  • The Fal River Festival at the beginning of June
Falmouth Town Council (FTC) updates
Work had been progressing on the proposals for a seating area on Church Street Car Park. FTC was supportive of this and had committed £10k to the ideas. Cornwall Council had agreed to the idea of a long lease. The project team was now approaching the BID for financial help. Cornwall Council was planning remedial work to the sea wall over the winter and so it was unlikely the new area would be open before summer 2013.

There was no further news on the Localism proposals. Cornwall Council was consulting with FTC on the idea of a ‘revised model of managing’ public conveniences but any wider scheme for the devolution of other services was not being discussed.

The idea of a CIC for Prince of Wales Pier was also stalled. This would need FTC’s support and a lack of CC officer time had prevented the necessary discussions. This was a loss as match-funding could be used to make the whole larger than the parts.

Work on the Docks Masterplan had been affected by a recent controversial talk on the dredging proposals at the Poly. This, it was felt, had simply reinforced positions rather than clarified them and had led to a flood of campaigning emails. Authorisation for the dredging trial was expected within one month. CC Cabinet support was also being sought.

Cornwall Council update
The main item to look out for was the discussion about the stadium which was scheduled for Tuesday 15th.

Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
Having been fairly quiet since January, the LEP had sprung into action and published a draft strategy on which they were seeking views before the end of May. See their website. Given the time available, members were advised to respond direct and directly.

Fal Energy Partnership (FEP)
The FEP had produced a free Information Pack for householders which was being circulated. More information is available from their website.

Those attending
Ambassadors – David Pollard
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Cornwall Council - Mike Varney
Cornwall Marine Network – Paul Wickes
Falmouth Age Concern - Sally Stiles
Falmouth Business Club – Andy Coote
Falmouth Churches Together - Neil Tinson
Falmouth Town Council - Mark Williams
Falmouth Town Council - Oliver Cramp
Falmouth Town Council - Diane Merrett
FDHA – Shaun Davie
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
RIBA – Christopher Smith
The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society - Mike Jenks
Transition Falmouth - Lorely Lloyd
Transport Working Group – John Bottomley
Watersports Centre – Jackie George