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Villagers express fear over impact of proposed marina |
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Thursday, 21 June 2007 |
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Fears have been expressed about the potential disruption the proposed
marina development at Penlee Quarry will cause to residents of
Mousehole and Newlyn.
A planning application for the Newlyn scheme,
which will incorporate a five-star hotel, 200 residential properties
and marina for 200 yachts, is expected to be lodged by the end of the
year.
However,
John Dancey, a Mousehole resident, said that while some of the concerns
expressed by those who are opposed to the marina could be construed as
"irrational", the matter of access remains a "concrete argument".
Mr
Dancey said: "The judgement as to whether we want yachties about the
place is one in which people have a difference of opinion. The worry
about this lift bridge and how it will affect our day-to-day lives is
the main anxiety of Mousehole."
Edward Iliffe, the managing
director of Marina Developments Ltd, which is the company behind the
project, said the challenge was to make sure the bridge caused as
little disruption as possible.
"The bridge we wish to use is called a Bascule bridge, which will hang 12 metres above the sea level," he said.
"It will be much faster than the Ross Bridge in Penzance and it will only be open three or four times a day."
A Bascule bridge is a drawbridge with a counterweight; the upward swing provides clearance for boat traffic.
Probably the most famous Bascule bridge is Tower Bridge across the Thames in London.
Some
10 are in use in the UK, one of which is in operation at Weymouth
Harbour. Ian Gale, a berthing office at the 850 berth Weymouth harbour,
said the Bascule bridge could be up and down within six minutes.
However, he said that 20-minute delays were common during peak season when 40 vessels could be coming in and out at one time.
"Once
you put a bridge in a boat has the right of way but we have a local
agreement that enables us to lift the bridge every two hours," he said.
"Emergency services know when the bridge will be lifted and they take an alternative route."
Edward
Iliffe said he was confident a system could be in place that would
allow the emergency services, or a private person, to cancel the bridge
in an emergency.
"I am confident that there will be a way of doing this," he said.
In
response to other concerns relating to traffic increases, which have
been expressed via letters to The Cornishman, Mr Illife said two
traffic assessments, which were done last August and September, had
determined the road suitable.
"The advantage we have been given is that the traffic consultants believe the road system is adequate.
"The
problem we have got is people do not believe that," he said, adding
that there was a number of things that could be done to improve the
situation without doing anything drastic. "Like changing the positions
of the bus stops," he said.
"One of the things we are in
discussions about is a park and ride system. We're in discussion with
Penwith District Council about a whole raft of what we can do to
improve the situation.
"In some ways this is slightly pre-
empting the debate," he said. "We are all aware there's an issue but
what we do not have at this stage is a proposal."
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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