Latest news with #RamePeninsula
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Upset over fears popular Cornwall camping spot could be shut
People from the Rame Peninsula are "gutted" a popular camping spot might be closed over safety comes after Plymouth and Cornwall councils have decided not to renew a licence allowing people to use the historic Sandway Campsite, close to the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.A petition has been launched by Katy Mabin calling for Cornwall Council to "work actively" to preserve the campsite and avoid issuing eviction councils said they asked campers last year to "vacate the land immediately due to the risks of immediate danger/death" from flooding and landslips, and they were concerned about people camping there. Ms Mabin said: "Losing this beloved site would erase nearly a century of community history and tradition - a detrimental blow not just to camping enthusiasts, but to the very fabric of Kingsand's identity."Kate Ewert, who represents the Rame Peninsula on Cornwall Council, challenged the authorities to do a new report into safety said no-one was staying at the site after notices went up this year telling them to set up bell tents on the beach in the 1930s, which have since been replaced by Beach is owned and managed by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council and they granted a 15-year lease from 2009 to the Sandway Campsite Association for holiday use only. 'Insufficient escape route' A 2013 Cornwall Council report identified risks about the stability of the cliff and there were several landslides leading up to March a joint statement, the councils said there were concerns that there is "no sufficient" escape route for campers and the Environment Agency had also highlighted safety risks."If the tide rises high enough and sweeps over the tents, then the beach could well become flooded and the occupants would be trapped. "That risk would be even greater if flooding happened overnight whilst the occupants were asleep," the councils councils said they asked campers last year to "vacate the land immediately due to the risks of immediate danger/death" because of the risks of flooding and landslips" and were concerned about people camping there. Ewert said notices had been put up asking people to leave, but no-one was camping said: "I am gutted about the state of affairs at Sandway. "Cornwall Council's planning committee granted permission last year after campers argued they did not use the site during the spring tide or when there was a risk from storm called for a new report to update the findings of the 2013 said five more planning consents were issued and campers were able to use the land in the intervening 11 said: "I asked for a new full study to be completed."It seems a geological expert reviewed the report and referred back to the 2013 report and said the land is unstable and that's that."The Rame Peninsula has come to the fore recently after being featured in the book The Salt Path and its accompanying movie.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Maker Heights at centre of Cornish heritage site planning row
A Cornish heritage site which has become a hub for musicians, artists and makers is at the centre of a planning row.A private company has submitted plans to change the use of one of the historic buildings at Maker Heights on the Rame Peninsula to residential and commercial use, but opponents fear it could set a precedent for second Places, which filed the part-retrospective planning application to turn The Straw Store into residential use, said it would help with the financial upkeep of the application has received about 30 letters of opposition from residents, with one saying Maker Heights was "not a suitable place for permanent residential development." 'Significant potential' The former military site contains five scheduled monuments, 17 Grade II* listed buildings and is situated in the protected Rame Head area of the Cornwall National Landscape, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). A number of outbuildings on the site are already owned and managed by Evolving Places, including The Straw Store, which has been used as a holiday a supporting statement to Cornwall Council, Evolving Places said it had invested "a significant amount of money in the fabric of the site, clearing, maintaining, restoring and caring for the buildings, land and monuments".It said The Straw Store had "significant potential to deliver some much-needed income".The planning statement added the elements owned by Evolving Places "desperately need a significant injection of capital to stand any chance of bringing any more buildings back to life".It said: "Supporting this application will help reduce the conservation deficit and in turn reduce the pressure for enabling development." 'Wholly unsuitable' One of the opponents to the plan said Maker Heights was one of the "last remaining heritage landscapes" on the said: "Generations of families – mine included – have enjoyed this place for over four generations."The proposed plan threatens to take that away, replacing a shared community resource with private dwellings."The Rame Conservation Trust (RCT), which was formed in 1997 to protect and promote the heritage assets at Maker Heights for public benefit, said it was concerned "The Straw Store would be sold as a private residential dwelling".The RCT said: "From a heritage perspective, we would also maintain that this location is wholly unsuitable for residential use, likely to permanently change the visual and historic character of the courtyard.""We would, however, support continued use as a studio – it has recently been used as a wellbeing space," it added.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Cornwall private car parks are a bad look
Plans for a private operator to manage about 20 car parks in picturesque parts of Cornwall will give a bad impression to visitors, a councillor has saidCornwall Council said the sites would be handed over in July and it argued a private firm could use cameras to improve enforcement and increase councillor Kate Ewert said having private car parks was a mistake and would give Cornwall a bad council said it wanted to ensure the car parks were managed fairly and would monitor them to ensure fines were being correctly issued. Corserv, which was chosen to operate the car parks on a five-year lease, said it would manage them fairly. 'Essentially mercenary' The previous administration decided to bring in a private operator because, unlike local authorities, they are able to use automatic number plate recognition cameras for enforcement. Nearly 20 car parks, including ones in Newquay, Tintagel, Porthleven, St Ives and Fowey, will come under new management. However, the council's car park in Cawsand, in Ewert's division, will not be transferred following a campaign by councillor, who represents the Rame Peninsula, said: "We all hear these stories of private operators that are essentially mercenary and the way they reach after people for non-payment of fees even if they've gone over by 30 seconds or they've put in a digit wrong on their number plate."It doesn't make Cornwall a very welcoming place if people are coming to some of our tourist towns and villages and then getting fined extraordinary amounts." Ewert said the car parks should remain under the council's control. "It's a mistake for us to give over any of our assets to private operators - we should not be doing that," she said. Robert Niblett, who lives in Nottingham and has visited Cornwall for the past 55 years, was cautious about the change."It's a bit disheartening," he said."You've got the cameras and intimidation of that going on. It's a bit threatening and a bit worrying at times." 'Managed fairly' A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: "The car parks have been leased to Corserv for a five-year term with a break clause after two years. "Working with Corserv, we will monitor the car parks during the contract. Any decision around bringing the car parks back under Cornwall Council management would be for Cornwall councillors to consider."A spokesperson for Corserv said: "We want to ensure our car parks are managed fairly and enforcement only carried out when it is clear drivers have not paid the appropriate fee for parking or adhered to the terms and conditions in place. "Any service provider operating on our behalf will work within this criteria and we will monitor the contract to ensure parking charge notices are correctly issued."
