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Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
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Waves of anger will be rippling
through Newlyn this morning as one man fights eviction from the
waterfront site he has occupied rent-free for the last four years.
John
Lambourn, restorer of the 111-year-old Cornish lugger The Ripple, will
stand firm despite demands from Newlyn's Harbour Commissioners to
vacate the site by the end of the day.
The Harbour Commission loaned the site to Mr Lambourn to complete the Ripple restoration.
And now with the boat in the water and the masts almost complete, they say it is time he moved on.
However, Mr Lambourn said he needs another fortnight to finish the work
- and he insists the Harbour Commission does not have the legal status
to eject him.
The
Harbour Commission, however, which controls the affairs of the harbour
and owns surrounding properties, has lost patience. "John Lambourn is
abusing our hospitality," said a Harbour Commissioner, who did not want
to be named.
"That's prime waterfront land worth its weight in gold and he's had it rent-free for four years. It's time we took it back."
Another
company in Newlyn, Cosalt International, which supplies fishing gear,
revealed its plans to store two 20-feet containers on the site.
Branch
manager David Tremeer said the Harbour Commission "promised" the site
to his company four years ago, "just before that boat turned up".
"We've
had to find other storage since then and it's cost us a substantial
amount when you compare what we would've paid for ground rent," he said.
The Strand site occupied by Mr Lambourn is earmarked for regeneration as part of Newlyn's £7m fish market plan.
Planning permission was granted earlier this month to build a unit on the site.
Mr
Lambourn told The Cornishman he expressed an interest, under the West
Cornwall Lugger Trust, to set up a lugger information point on the
site, outlining ideas for a fish cafe, a lugger briefing room, and a
presentation room for Newlyn's fish catching methods.
He said:
"Once they put containers on the site it immediately obstructs the
regeneration project the Newlyn community has decided it wants through
the electoral democratic process."
A Harbour Commissioner
confirmed that the commission "would be happy" to grant Cosalt
International a one-year contract for the site.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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