Penzance Harbour. It's been the biggest issue facing this town since I joined The Cornishman six months ago. And it shows no signs of being resolved. Every week the paper is bombarded with letters on the subject and every week the story takes another turn. (To see a little of what I'm talking about, log on to www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/penzanceharbour - I promise not to mention this subject too often!)
Now, I feel there's been ample opportunity for people to make their views heard on this subject. And they have - in several public meetings; in a Cornishman vote; and in a strategic planning committee, which saw the plans for a combined freight and passenger terminal rejected. But, in light of threats by Cornwall Council that if Penzance did not get its act together and bring back the latter proposal, known as Option A, the Isles of Scilly sea link could move to Falmouth, we decided to see whether people in Penzance had changed their minds.
The words "can" and "worms" spring to mind. For campaigners have allegedly asked all of their contacts to persuade their friends, family members and in turn their contacts to vote against Option A. There is, of course, nothing to stop anyone voting, but if, as alleged, many of those contacts are outside the county, the result is unlikely to be an accurate reflection of feeling in Penzance. And as such, with the votes standing at 30% in favour of Option A and 70% in favour of looking at alternative options, the poll has been dismissed by one councillor as a "complete farce".
So what next? How do we truly gauge public opinion on this? Is an internet poll representative of public feeling? The Chamber of Commerce took to the streets this weekend with a petition in favour of Option A and gathered more than 700 signatures. But they say, like the council, that there is no alternative to Option A and therefore gave people no alternative. So is this an accurate reflection of public opinion? Or is it what people will accept when left with nothing else?
It's hard to see where this will all end. All I want to see is the best solution for Penzance. If everyone would sit down together and talk about this in a rational and calm manner, then maybe we could find a way forward for the good of this town.
FoodieSarah has moved
7 months ago
The FoPzH list that we mailed asking people to vote consists almost entirely of addresses collected at meetings in the town and at stalls we organised on Causewayhead and in the Wharfside Centre. They are local people; the same ones that packed St John's Hall a few months ago and that regularly write hundred of letters to the Cornishman...
ReplyDeleteI think this project went wrong because there was apathy from the majority and the assumption that the Council would eventually sort it out and that the more outspoken objectors were cranks who would be steamed over by the bureacratic machinery. A vacuum was created with many not knowing what was going on (or caring) and the Council inept at telling them and getting them on board for what was always going to have to be a compromise. The vacuum was filled by the objectors, expertly organized, and the impression created that the Council was completely out of touch, that easy alternatives had been ignored, that the whole project had been foisted upon them (rather than created in Penzance) and that a popular and iconic landmark was to be buried below coutless tons of concrete. The lobby was effective in getting the project refused and then everybody stared into the void and realized they were looking at disaster for Penzance. The ferry and the funding is for the Isles of Scilly to the mainland. There are good reasons to operate from Penzance but it is not in a monoplopy postion. Those not previously paying attention realized that the Town was gambling its economic prosperity for a scrappy piece of beach which would have to covered in rock armour anyway if Option A did not go ahead. So there we have it; no agreed plan for Penzance, objectors desparately trying to find a credible alternative they can agree on and a lot of townsfolk annoyed and just wanting the Council to get on with it.
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