REPLY TO A QUESTION ON OUTER HARBOUR

This is a reply to a question asked about the outer harbour, hope you find it helpful.  Armand


Subject: RE: Looe Harbour flood defence plans and proposed new outer harbour

Dear Alice, Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you but after being away on holiday there have been a lot of issues to be dealt with from the recent flooding. These effected many properties in the area and there has been some damage to the infrastructure which needed to be attended to urgently.

In saying the above the project that you wish information becomes even more important for the town and it's residents. Back in the 90s the EA did some tests in the harbour to construct some form of flood defences for the town, probably lock gates which was strongly apposed by the towns Harbour Commission and Fisherman. It was thought that what was proposed would make entering the harbour dangerous, as an ex trawler owner and skipper i can confirm this. This idea was dropped and no further work was done in respect of any flood defences until a chance meeting early one morning with a member of the EA and myself (as a local councillor). When we discussed the continued flooding in the town its affects on the businesses and residents and the potential for serious damage to the infrastructure. We talked over the past schemes and the possibility of moving something new forward. After a meeting with the towns Harbour Commissioners the EA promised to put in a substantial sum of money if any community solution would elevate flooding. Since then there has been a series of meetings with the EA and even a meeting with Dan Rogerson the flooding minister who supported this approach. The basic idea is that the town develops its own plan for flood defences that will include elements of regeneration to bring more visiting craft and renewed vigour to the fishing indistry. This is being lead by the Harbour Commissioners who have so far got outlined permissions to used Duchy, Crown Estates and Cornwall Council land for any scheme that comes forward. The next stage is for the Commissioners to get down some basic ideas on paper and take them to the towns organisations and residents so that any plans for the future development of an outer harbour, breakwater etc come form and with the agreement of the town. Any plan must be put forward as part of the Town Plan which will be voted on by the town.

This is just a brief outline of what is happening

Regards



Armand Toms cc
Looe East and St Martins
01503 264823

A NEW WEEK MORE PLANNING APPLICATION

Dear All,   Some new planning applications to be considered, antsy comments to atoms@cornwall.gov.uk or 01503 264823.    Armand

Looe

(Looe East

Electoral Division)

Tremayne House Sandplace Road St Martin Cornwall

Construction of domestic garage with workshop over

(Resubmission of application PA13/08415) - Mr K Eason -

PA13/11021 (Case Officer - Davina Pritchard)

Looe

(Looe East

Electoral Division)

8 Rame View East Looe Looe Cornwall PL13 1DR

Loft conversion and construction of new rear dormer with

balcony. - Mr And Mrs Keith Bonaker - PA14/00246 (Case

Officer - Sarah Stevens)

Looe

(Looe East

Electoral Division)

Unit 1 Fish Quay The Quay East Looe Looe Cornwall PL13

1DX

Change of use from B1/B2 business/general industrial - marine

engineering unit to A3 fish restaurant and A5 hot food

takeaway. Alterations to entrance steps and provision of

kitchen extract. - Mrs T Hicks (With Tanners Holdings & Tamar

View Fruiterers) - PA14/00336 (Case Officer - Jonathan

Luker)

NEW PLANNING APPLICATION

Dear All,   Below is a new planning application, any comments to atoms@cornwall.gov.uk or 01503 264823.  Regards Armand

Looe

(Looe East

Electoral Division)

Chough Rock Plaidy Lane East Looe Looe Cornwall PL13 1LF

Demolish existing house and erect new house set down lower

into the cliff - Guild Of St James - PA13/11294 (Case

Officer - Jonathan Luker)

New Planning Applications

Dear All,   New applications in this week, have resolved problems with getting these now.   If you have any comments let me know at 01503 264823 or atoms@cornwall.gov.uk.       Armand

Looe (Looe East Electoral Division)
Land At Shutta Hill Shutta East Looe Cornwall
Redesign of dwelling to existing approval, installation of new
access, driveway and associated works. - Mr G Stevens -
PA13/10143 (Case Officer - Davina Pritchard)

Looe (Looe East Electoral Division)
Adjoining Looe Comprehensive School Barbican Road East
Looe Looe Cornwall PL13 1EU
Construction of 22 dwellings constituting a partial re-plan of
Phase 1 (99 dwellings approved by planning permission
reference PA12/04367) - Mr N Lush - PA13/10664 (Case
Officer - Mr Stephen Kirby)

Looe (Looe East Electoral Division)
Land Adjacent To Glebelands Looe Cornwall PL13 1NP
Residential development to provide 13 affordable rented
dwellings, public open space and a children's play area on
vacant land. - Ms Michelle Richards - PA13/10810 (Case
Officer - Victoria Regan)

Looe (Looe East Electoral Division)
Barratt Homes St Martins Road East Looe Cornwall
Screening opinion for the construction of 22 dwellings
constituting a partial re-plan of Phase 1 (99 dwellings approved
by planning permission reference PA12/04367) - Mr N Lush -
PA13/11093 (Case Officer - Mr Stephen Kirby)

1. 

NEW PLANNING APPLICATION

Dear All,  New appication any comments to me asap at 01503 264823 or atoms@cornwall.gov.uk    Thanks Armand

Looe(Looe EastElectoral Division)

The Fellery Shutta East Looe Looe Cornwall PL13 1LS

Replacement of single glazed windows and doors with double

glazed UPVC windows and doors - Miss Rosalind Benton -

PA13/08728 (Case Officer - Sarah Stevens)

Submission into the extra charges for the Tamar Tag

TAMAR BRIDGE AND TORPOINT FERRY

Dear Mr Boother, Thank you for giving me the chance of making a submission regarding the issue of raising payments paid by those with the Tamar Tag system. I do hold a tag as well as being a local councillor which represents a division in an area that will be affected by the surcharge. Having spoken to many people over the issue of raising this fee i would like to submit this to the committee.

The charge will affect those with jobs that need to use the Tamar Bridge especially those who cross from South East Cornwall to work in the areas economic centre Plymouth. It will also add to the costs of local business and thus reduce the benefits of having an employment centre West of the bridge. Currently the wages of the South East of Cornwall of those people who live and work in the area are the lowest in Cornwall at 14k which is 2k lower then all other areas of Cornwall. Plus the average of the wages of all working groups only raises with the impact of those working in Plymouthto 3rd out of 6 areas of Cornwall. So by increasing the charges to locals working in Plymouth will have a great impact to them and the local economy.

Set this against the 60m that is due to be spent on duelling the A30 it may well drive economic growth North as there will be no toll on this road for both business or tourists. There is a lot of talk about how the recession has hit the number of crossings yet to do what is proposed will hit it even further. To put up the charges will have a duel impact reduce the number of crossings and affect the economy. The main impact on the Bridge would be for the A38 to be duelled from Saltash to Bodmin to provide the economic growth to bring more business and tourists to the South and South East of Cornwall.

My major worry is that the councillors for Plymouth see the bridge of a lost opportunity for business and economic growth as what stays East of the Bridge helps them. The residents of my area are not happy with the proposal

Regards

Armand Toms cc
Looe East and St Martins

MARITIME ORGANISATION BAN PIBs FANTASTIC NEWS

Below is a press release from the International Maritime Organisation regarding the ban on the chemicals that killed so many seabirds, great news and very quick, 

Seabird death chemical to be banned

Wildlife charities have welcomed the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) swift action to ban ships across the world from discharging all forms of high viscosity polyisobutylene (PIB) into the sea during tank cleaning operations. PIB was the chemical responsible for the deaths of over 4000 seabirds on the south west coast earlier this year.

The tragedy, the largest marine pollution incident of its kind in the region since Torrey Canyon, shocked thousands of people.

At a meeting of the IMO’s working group on the Evaluation of Safety and Pollution Hazards of Chemicals (ESPH) in London today, it was decided to change the classification of high viscosity PIBs to require full tank prewash and disposal of all residues at port and prohibit any discharge at sea from 2014. This will also apply to new “highly-reactive” forms of PIB, which are currently being transported un-assessed.

The recommendation to do this had been made by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on behalf of the UK Government, following vigorous campaigning by wildlife charities and the public.

Alec Taylor, Marine Policy Officer for the RSPB said; “We are delighted with the action taken by the IMO. The global trade in PIB products is increasing and with it the risks to our precious marine environment. Today’s global ban on the deliberate discharge of high viscosity PIBs into our seas is a real step forward and one that we hope will end this particular pollution threat to seabirds and other marine life.”

Between February and April this year over 4000 seabirds, of at least 18 species, mainly guillemots, were washed up on beaches from Cornwall to Dorset in two separate incidents. The majority were dead, but some were alive and taken for treatment by the RSPCA at their West Hatch Centre. The subsequent MCA investigation revealed that the birds had been smothered with high viscosity PIB. The same substance was also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of seabirds off the Dutch coast in March 2010.

RSPCA senior wildlife scientist Adam Grogan said: "We welcome this decision. Our staff worked around the clock washing and treating these poor birds in January and April and it was heartbreaking seeing the pitiful state they were in.  Hopefully this will help stop incidents like these happening again, and save wildlife from suffering and dying like this in the future.”

Joan Edwards, Head of Living Seas for The Wildlife Trusts, said:  "We welcome today's ban. The thousands of dead and dying seabirds witnessed earlier this year were the most visible victims of mismanagement. Impacts on other parts of marine life support systems may have been just as widespread, and more serious. Not to mention the impacts on tourism of dead seabirds on the beach - particularly pressing in south-west counties which rely so heavily on summer visitors."

Peter Burgess, Devon Wildlife Trust's Conservation Advocacy Manager said; "This is an important decision for wildlife. It's pleasing to see how quickly the IMO has acted and heartening to hear that local people's concerns have helped build momentum towards achieving this. However, we do see the PIB incidents of 2013 as a wake-up call. Dead and dying seabirds washed up on some of the south-west's most popular beaches were hard to ignore. But how many unseen and unreported activities are damaging our precious marine wildlife in undersea habitats that are almost completely unprotected by law?"

The public response to the tragedy was significant, with more than 25,000 people signing petitions organised by 38 Degrees and Avaaz calling for a ban on the discharge of PIB.

Alec Taylor from RSPB added; “There was a lot of hard work by RSPB, other wildlife charities and the MCA, with support from several MPs on the south west coast. But the huge support we received from members of the public, many of whom experienced the effects of this pollution first hand as they walked the beaches, was perhaps the clinching factor in achieving such a quick decision to prevent discharges of harmful PIBs.”

ENDS