Frequently Asked Questions:

We have been asked all the following questions over the last few months, if you want us to answer a particular question and it's not listed below please contact us and we'll do our best.

What will be the impact on our services - hospital, schools, water etc?

Increasing our local population by around a thousand will mean we have to share out our limited resources. E.G. there will be less to go round. Many of our services are already overstretched, almost to breaking point. Adding more people will just make matters worse. see Infrastructure

Where will all these new people be coming from?

The vast majority won't be coming from Cornwall. Many will be retired or semi-retired; some will be selling up and escaping the big city rat race, a few of these may set up businesses. Some will be part-time residents and continue to commute. A few may 'tele-commute' and work from home. see Housing

What's the point in having a 'Seafood Park'?

For a start, it will be more accurate to call it an industrial estate involved in fish processing. It is difficult to understand how the required quantity of landed fish will be consistently available after going on the open market and being sold to the highest bidder, but the idea seems to be: that if we keep some of the landed fish, put it in fancy packaging with a 'made in Newlyn' label, it can then be sold for much more money to posh shops and supermarkets 'up country'. The trouble is, only a very select few will benefit from this: the fish merchants who are losing business at the moment, mainly due to a lack of cheap fish! They tell us that this new way of doing things will revive the industry and create employment, but we doubt if the jobs will go to local people anyway. The food processing industry is well known for employing Eastern European iterant labour on an ad-hoc basis and when the businesses leave the Newlyn harbour area, the chances are the new jobs will go to those who will accept the lowest wages and least job security. We may expect an influx of cheap labour chasing sporadic employment oportunities; an added drain on our resources during the times when there are not even enough fish to process! The main 'point' of having a seafood park is so the fish merchants can vacate all their very desirable properties around Newlyn harbour, relocate to new industrial units using E.U. grant subsidies, and then convert the empty buildings into expensive apartments that will then be bought by incomers as second homes - they call it 'regeneration'. see Newlyn Coombe Commerce and  Regeneration?

It's been going on behind the scenes for several years but once the first actual demolition and building starts, we can expect at the very least about four years of heavy construction; possibly as many as six. For much of this time, all the schemes would be progressing at the same time: Port Penlee Marina, The Newlyn to Mousehole road lifting bridge, Newlyn Harbour, Newlyn South Pier, Sandy Cove, Penzance Breakwaters, Penzance Harbour and the Newlyn Coombe Industrial Estate. Our area will resemble a war zone. see Construction

Will it set a precedent for more development?

Almost certainly. How can any prospective future planning applications be refused after such precedents have been set? For Penwith District Council to say otherwise would be irresponsible. There have been numerous instance of this happening all over the UK, what is to say we will be any different. see Regeneration?

What will be the impact on tourism?

Devastation! With the construction disruption alone, there will be untold damage done to all our local businesses. The effects on tourism, not only during the construction phase, but afterwards when our area will have lost its heart and soul, will be incalculable. see  Business and Commerce

How many jobs will be created?

We haven't got the faintest idea - and neither has anyone else it seems! If you can find any official figures, do let us know. see Jobs

Why not put a marina in Penzance?

Because there is no potential for the developers to build houses and earn lots of money - that is where all the profit lies. Otherwise it's an excellent idea and they actually want one there too. There are a few technical problems - the harbour is tidal and would need dredging for instance, but otherwise it could be a viable project. see Alternatives

What about park & ride to solve the traffic problems?

It might help relieve some congestion during the height of the season, but  much of the through-traffic in Newlyn is  business related and/or car-essential. There is a fairly good bus service already and this does help the traffic congestion somewhat but you can't force more people to use it. We love our cars and a park & ride won't change that unfortunately. see Traffic

Why not put the Seafood Park in the quarry?

The same old problem - it would cause far too much traffic congestion - the road access is totally unsuitable, just as it would be for the Port Penlee and Sandy Cove schemes. see Traffic and Alternatives

Do we really need those huge breakwaters to protect Penzance Promenade?

Do you need a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Protecting Penzance Promenade is a total farce! It is one hundred and fifty years old and will still be here in another one hundred and fifty, climate change and rising sea levels notwithstanding. All it needs is a bit of TLC; certainly not obliterated with a million tons of ugly rough stone blocks. If anyone can tell us of any of the other hundreds of Victorian promenades around the UK being protected by such overkill measures, we would like to hear about it. As far as we know, this is unprecedented on such a scale and expense. And anyway, if the sea levels do rise in a worse-case-scenario, the 'protection' will be totally useless anyway. It's just an excuse to use up unwanted stone - don't believe otherwise. see Connections and Quarrying

How will they remove all the unwanted stone?

In two ways: The one million (approx) tons of Penlee stone that will need to be removed to deepen the ledges and benches (to site the housing) will be used for the Sandy Cove scheme. This will be blasted from the quarry in large ten+ ton chunks which will then be loaded by grab crane onto large lorries. The lorries will then transport the stone blocks by crossing the Newlyn to Mousehole Road, and then travelling along, what is (for now), the cycle path. It will then simply be dumped where required and then manoeuvred into position by bulldozers and cranes. It will take countless thousands of lorry movements to achieve this – probably about thirty to forty thousand! If it could be achieved in a year, it would need about one hundred trips per day – round the clock, 7 days a week! see Construction

The one million (approx) tons of stone that will need to be removed to create the channel connecting the sea and the quarry, will need very specialist techniques involving underwater blasting and dredging. The channel needs to be at least 2.5 metres deeper than at mean low water. It will be a mammoth operation causing total devastation to the nearby marine ecosystems which may never recover. The stone will then be loaded onto barges by crane and transported across the bay to the site of the Penzance breakwaters and Harbour schemes. It will then be removed from the barge by crane and lowered into position. see Environment and Green Issues

Won't all the building affect the wildlife habitats?

Yes – and it has already. It was widely known that an old-established badger sett had been destroyed when the preparatory clearance work started in the upper southern-most corner of the quarry. English Nature also removed and relocated a colony of rare newts and other amphibians. There was also a nesting pair of Peregrines that were either ‘removed’ of flew away around the same time. There can be little doubt that the development, if allowed to go ahead will prevent these species from ever becoming re-established; there will simply be too much human activity nearby. The blasting and removal of some two million tons of stone is sure to be the death knell for many other resident species also. see  Environment and Alternatives

What if the lifting bridge is up and the lifeboat is delayed? (as many of our lifeboat crew live in Mousehole)

We are assured that it will never happen because it will “be fitted with all the latest electronic gizmos”, “it will be manned 24hrs a day”, “it can be lowered quickly by hand in an emergency”, none of the sixty queueing cars will ever get in the way and that all the pigs will safely fly. We were assured that Concorde was safe, the Titanic was safe, the zillion dollar Space Shuttle was safe and that the safety of the railways wouldn’t be compromised with privatisation. The unpleasant reality is that eventually, someone will die. If all the proper procedures had been followed it will be blamed on human error or an act of God. Cornwall County Council could theoretically be sued for negligence for allowing the development to proceed in the first place but they will wriggle out of it by saying that all the necessary procedures were followed and ‘nobody could have predicted such and such’. Projects such as the proposed lifting bridge have to have an acceptable amount of built-in deniability to be able to pass through the planning stages. If Cornwall County Council were irrevocably and ultimately responsible, they wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. It always boils down to the mantra of ‘Progress’ which is: ‘Profit before People’. Cornwall County Council are extremely concerned about the safety issues but they have to have enough official reports stuffed in front of them to let them off the hook when ‘shit happens’! see Lifting Bridge

Why do they need a lifting bridge?

MDL see Port Penlee as ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ of their 18-marina portfolio. Port Penlee would become the most-westerly port-of-call for yachts on their way to the Scillies and around Land’s End, and to the other marinas on the West Wales coast, Ireland, and beyond. The nagivation skills required for this area of water are very high. Many yachts using Port Penlee would therefore be of the big racing and transatlantic classes (otherwise known as ‘millionaire-class’). The mast height of these yachts can be up to 90 feet above sea level. It was for this reason that the original plans for a fixed bridge across the centre of the marina included one of such high clearance. It would have been about 95ft high and needed to be strong enough to allow the UK maximum weight lorries of 44 tonnes. This would have meant a massive construction, and extremely unsightly; totally out of place for the approach to the historic and picturesque village of Mousehole, only a half mile beyond. This proposal was vehemently rejected by many parties and the plans were promptly dropped. The only other two options then left would be either: 1), a lower level bridge (which was completely rejected by MDL) or 2), a lifting bridge. see Lifting Bridge and  MegaYachts

Where is all the money coming from?

We're still working on this one, it's a real minefield and we're being fed a lot of disinformation. Watch this space, we're on to it. see Regeneration?

Who stands to profit most?

At a rough guess (in order of priority). 1. MDL, 2. Port Penlee Ltd (Tony Jarman), 3. DeFacto Project Management (hefty commission from the various grant procurements), 4. The contractor who builds the houses, 5. The estate agent who gets the contract for the house sales.

Why has work already started?

Supposedly, "to bring the quarry up to the latest health and safety standards" and to get ready to create new 'safer' entrances to enable lorries to enter and exit without having to negotiate a 'blind junction' as at present.  see Construction

Can't they get the stone from somewhere else?

Yes! Dean Quarry on the Lizard. There is also a suitable quarry in Scotland, or failing that, Norway - and its cheaper. see Quarrying

Will they use local labour to build it?

Unlikely. Previous MDL marina developments have used specialist outside contractors – the local builders didn’t even get a look in. see Construction

Will they build a new link road from Drift?

No – it would be far too expensive for a start; more than the cost of all the regeneration schemes put together. It would also be extremely difficult to justify as it would need to cut across a great deal of privately owned agricultural land. see Traffic

Will the yachts interfere with fishing?

Unlikely  - but they are more-likely to interfere with fishermen going to and from the harbour. This will especially be the case with inexperienced yachtsmen of a few of which Port Penlee, as all other marinas, is sure to experience - the so-called 'weekend sailor'! Commercial fishing boats and private leisure craft, nor their respective owners, are not normally a good combination.

What do the fishermen think about a marina?

It's probably best to have a drink or three in the Swordfish or the Dolphin to find out the short answer to that question but if you happen to say that you favour a marina in Newlyn be prepared to make a hasty exit. By the way, if you think that the Newlyn Fish Industy Forum represents the best interests of fishing, you would be wrong. If you thought it represented the best interests of fishermen you would be wrong. The Fish Industry Forum looks after the fishing industry and all those who have the largest vested interest in it, don't be fooled otherwise.

When is it all supposed to start?

It already has and has been going on behind the scenes for years. Work started on clearing the quarry in 2002. The owners of prime Newlyn property have been gradually pursuaded to 'regenerate' since 2000, possibly even earlier, (they now form a cohesive mass with very few dissenters). The cycleway below the quarry is being prepared for heavy lorry traffic even now. If we let them get away with it, the buldozers will start creating the access entrances in Penlee sometime in early 2006, everything would snowball from there onwards for about the next four to six years. see Construction

Has this happened anywhere else?

Not on such a scale. To our knowledge, there has not been a case of such an interlinked system of development schemes anywhere in the UK; we are in uncharted waters.

Has a development like this ever been stopped before?

Yes! A great many marina-based projects have been stopped by determined protesters. Some of the projects have been small, some have been large, and some on a much, much larger scale than Port Penlee and all the other seven schemes combined: The Harris Superquarry was stopped by determined public opposition that saw through the false promises dished out by the developers and their cronies. We can achieve the same result here with your support. Read this from the conclusion to the 13-year anti-quarry campaign and public enquiry:

'In the 1995 secret ballot, 67% of them on an 83% turnout rejected the opportunity of violating a National Scenic Area with a superquarry. Here, then, are a people that have chosen long-term integrity of place over the short-term buck. This enriches all who are sensitive to beauty.'

We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Common Myths:

If we don't get a marina, Penlee will become a working quarry again.

FALSE – Penlee will never operate as a commercial working quarry again. see: Quarrying

The regeneration will bring new jobs to the area.

POSSIBLY – But not as many as they say. There will also be job losses and further competition for our existing jobs by the new residents. see: Jobs

The development will help tourism.

FALSE – it will be a disaster for tourism. Our visitors come here to enjoy our peace and quiet and natural beauty; they don't want it spoiled by inappropriate development. It may attract a different form of tourism, one that will not be in keeping with our way of life. We don't want powerboats and jet skis; we don’t want millionaire yacht owners paying us weekend visits in their big 4x4s. see: Infrastructure

FALSE – 'doing nothing' may well be the best thing to do rather than doing 'something' if that 'something' happens to be the wrong choice. Doing nothing can also buy time. Anyway, it is better to do a little of what is right rather than a lot of what is wrong.

It will create affordable housing.

PARTLY TRUE – but there would be a big downside: For every 'affordable' home we will get three or four 'unaffordable' homes and all the people who will go in them. see: Housing

It will bring growth to the area.

NOT REALLY – Whatever growth is created will be off-set by the damage caused to our tourist trade. The upheaval caused during the extensive construction phase will put a blight on our local businesses also. see: Infrastructure

It's worth putting up with so we can get the other benefits.

FALSE – The 'other benefits' will never compensate for the damage caused to our beautiful bay, the erosion of our culture, the pressure on our infrastructure and the sacrilege of despoiling our natural and architectural heritage. see: Environment

The traffic can't get much worse.

FALSE – The traffic WILL get MUCH worse; and it won't just be during the tourist season. see: Traffic

They can just build a new road to bypass the traffic problems.

FALSE – Even if were feasible (and it's not for a number of technical reasons), the cost would be more than all the regeneration schemes put together – and the public would never allow it; there would be an outcry. see: Lifting bridge

The lifting bridge delays won't be for long.

OK – sit here for the next twelve minutes doing nothing but stare at this screen and see what it feels like. This will occur at least six times a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year – for ever! see: Lifting bridge

No one will be bothered to divert though Paul.

FALSE - If someone thinks they can shave a minute off their journey time, they will. This is a known fact. As a rule, people always take the quickest route rather than the shortest. see: Traffic

The regeneration will raise all our house prices.

FALSE – It probably won't make much difference. There may be a fall while all the building work is going on everywhere, on the other hand, there may also be some speculative buying in anticpation of a rise. Even if it did raise prices, how could anyone justify such greed when our young people can’t even get on the housing ladder? If property is rising everywhere else anyway (which it seems to be), the only people to benefit would be those getting out of the housing market completely (not many), or those seeking to down-size (even less). see: Housing

It'll look quite nice.

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Many of us would like to see an ugly scar on our landscape heal naturally – not smothered with little matchbox houses and a lake filled up with plastic boats. Have you ever heard the expression: 'putting lipstick on a pig'? That is our view of Port Penlee.

You'll hardly notice it.

False - Well maybe you won't if you can't see it. Unfortunately you can see it. It would be visible from Newlyn, from Wherrytown, from Penzance, from Marazion, from St Michael's Mount, from Prussia Cove... need we go on? And then there's the light pollution: At night it would be lit up like a Christmas tree; visible from the whole of Mount's Bay – yuk!

But Sandy Cove is a mess.

True - But it needn't be. One of the many reasons why Sandy Cove has not been improved or tidied up is because the County and District Councils have been 'waiting to see' if the regeneration schemes might materialise. There are many other neglected areas also: the National cycle way to Mousehole, Penzance Promenade and many sites in and around Newlyn. Had it not been for the sniff of Objective One money potentially filling everything with concrete and incomers, these areas may well have been improved long ago.

It will make up for the decline in fishing.

False – Fishing is in decline due to over-fishing and the rising cost of boat fuel. No amount of regeneration will replenish fish stocks or oil wells. Most of us would agree that the fishing industry is our heritage – nothing can or will replace it. Nothing can or will make up for it. It can only be preserved by consuming less fish and fishing more economically. There are NO other options. Certainly not 'wrapping fish in fancy packaging, slapping 'Newlyn' on it and then flogging it off up-country', be considered 'making up for the decline in fishing'. Making up for the decline in a few rich people's profits might be a better description!

There's plenty of room for everyone.

False – At this rate of growth we're going to run out of room anyway so why not stop now while we have the chance? Some of us would argue that we're way too full already. Are you going to say our hospitals have got plenty of beds, that our doctors aren't overstretched and that anyone can register for the dentist? Maybe you haven't been stuck in traffic lately and you have never experienced difficulty finding a parking place? Maybe you're happy with the cost of your water bills? Maybe you're confident that your children will be able to afford a house and get a good local job. If you do think that, can you please let us know where you live so we can all go there! see: Infrastructure

All the schemes are separate.

False – Like hell they are! Each scheme needs all the others. They are like a house of cards – remove one and the whole lot will collapse. see: Connections

It'll never happen.

True, if we’re successful, but... it IS happening right now. As the saying goes: "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing". The only way to stop this is to do something. Talk to others, write a letter.  see: Campaign If enough people do nothing, it will happen. If enough people do something, it won’t.

This is a 'once-in-a-lifetime' golden opportunity.

Not exactly - although it is a 'golden' opportunity for the developers. True, the Objective One grant window is closing rapidly and it is unlikely that there will be another opportunity to wreak havoc on such a scale again - thankfully!

Surely they're professionals; they know how to solve problems.

True – and they know how to make profits too. Ask yourself: 'who stands to gain most?': You or them? Who will lose? Will we really have as many benefits as we are being led to believe? For every problem they solve, they create two new problems and so it would go on...

Look at the Eden project - that's a development success.

Possibly – but who is it a success for? Certainly not the poor folk who live nearby. Environmentally, it is a disaster. The carbon emissions from the millions of visitors' cars make a mockery of Eden's environmental credentials. The Eden Project is a series of unnatural eco-systems sustained by fossil fuels; it fosters the illusion of helping to solve the world's problems when in reality, it adds to them. It could be termed a victim of its own success, let's learn from that.