Meeting To Set Up Boat Cove Association

There will be a meeting in the Church room Perranuthnoe on 22nd January 2008 at 7.oopm to set up the proposed Boat Cove Association. Anyone interested in joining or supporting the Association is invited to attend.

Outcome of Trust/Talking Party Meeting

A preliminary meeting between Alastair Cameron of the National Trust and some volunteer 'talking party' members, was held last night in the church room, Perranuthnoe.

The emphasis for the meeting was to ascertain exactly what people wanted to be done at Boat Cove.

It has been well and truly establish that everyone wants Boat Cove to remain a usable amenity for local people. The Trust are in agreement with this and prepared to work with us, the local community.
Thanks go out to everyone for taking the time to sign the petition and offer support.

If Boat Cove is to remain a usable amenity two things have to be addressed, the slip and the shed.

The shed is needed to store boat and fishing gear and has a great appeal and history behind it. Unfortunately it is very dilapidated and now actually overhanging the cliff.

The question is, what can be done about it? Suggestions raised at the meeting were as follows;

1. Shore it up
This was the most popular as everyone likes the shed just the way/where it is.
Things to take into account are the costs which would be astronomical and with rising sea levels and erosion how much longer would it last? Would it be worth it?

2. Drag it back
The second most popular was to drag the whole shed back a few yards away from the cliff edge and repair it.
Things to take into account are; Can it be done and what would be involved? Would the shed stand up to moving it?

3. Knock down and not replace
Not an option, or is it? Could be seen as a natural demise with a little help at the end for health and safety reasons.

4. Knock down and replace with new
Considerations with this one were; What will the new shed look like? Will it be wood? Will it be stone? Where will it go? Could parts of the old shed be incorporated in to the new one? How big should it be?

5. Keep old shed and build new one
This option involves sealing the shed and preserving it where it stands. Maybe have some history boards on it with information and pictures of now and then.
Considerations are; The shed is overhanging the cliff, very dangerous for anyone walking on the beach should it fall. How long before it does fall? It will have to be repaired and made secure as bits come off it in heavy winds, another danger for anyone passing.

The slip is needed to launch boats and as a means to get equipment to and from the shed. It is not really necessary for access to the beach as there is another way down and the Trust have already said they will provide steps.

So what where the ideas for the slip;

1. Make it safe and insurable
What would this involve? Can it be done?

2. Build a new one
Whats needed? Do we need hand rails? how wide will it have to be? what will it look like? should it be wood? metal? should it be fixed or movable?
To bring boats up it will have to be around 6-7 feet wide. To make it movable it would have to be very light.

3. Do away with it
The Trust will provide steps to access the cove. Boats can be launched from elsewhere and brought round to the cove. The problem is with the boat and fishing gear. The equipment is heavy and to try and walk across pebbles and rocks then up steps could prove a bit too much and so defeating the object of keeping Boat Cove a usable amenity.

There is a lot to consider and sort out including Planning and, Health and Safety issues. Alastair Cameron has said that the Trust will get a risk assessment done, he will arrange for a Health and Safety Officer to visit and will get the planning side looked in to as well as getting a building surveyor in for our best options.

From the community side, views and comments are needed on the suggestions put forward.
To be able to work with the National Trust we, as a community need to get organised. Communication is a key issue.
There are a lot of people to which Boat Cove is important. To keep all those people informed and up to date as well as letting everyone have their say will prove costly and time consuming.

The modern world revolves around modern technology, it's quick and effective as well as being more environmentally friendly.
This website is a good place to start. It enables everyone to be able to voice their opinions and read the opinions of others. If Boat Cove is important to you and you have access to a computer please use modern technology and go ahead and make your comments on the issues raised. If you have no access to a computer then you can phone me on 01736 710565 and I will publish your comments for you. This will enable us, as a community to get organised and really get to grips with what is wanted/needed. All final decisions can then be made face to face with the knowledge and piece of mind that it is a whole community decision.

It has been suggested that a 'Boat Cove Association' be formed to fulfill the needs of now and the future. Again, comments on this are needed.

Go ahead, click on 'comments' below and do your bit. Lots of people have offered support, this is the next step, actually giving it.

National Trust Notes On Meeting

Boat Cove Petition

If you want to add your name to the list of people opposed to the removal and non replacement of the shed and slip at Boat Cove you can do so at the following places;

Perranuthnoe Village Crafts
The Victoria Inn
Goldsithney Village Stores

We need to have the list ready to present to the National Trust by the 21st November.

Boat Cove Tenancy

Ian Hicks has regrettably given the Trust one months notice on the tenancy for the slip and shed at Boat Cove.

This has come about because the licence agreement requires him to bear full liability towards third parties.

Ian had asked the National Trust to place some good clear signage around the shed and slip warning the public of possible danger and directing them to another way down, but so far nothing has materialized.

He wrote and asked them if he was still liable under the circumstances and if so could he suspend the agreement until everything has been sorted out. This was the reply;

I am afraid the contract does not allow you to suspend the agreement.

In fact it does not make provision for you to terminate it at all, however The Trust will accept 'reasonable notice' in the circumstances and I will recommend that one month's notice is accepted.

If you do wish to give up the licence please will you let me have a letter to this effect.

What happens now is a good question. The Trust may well turn around and say that no more licence agreements will be issued.

Lets hope the Trust will preserve our heritage and let us continue to use Boat Cove in a way it always has been.

Apology To The National Trust - Re Boat Cove

Alastair Cameron has asked me to print an apology, in respect of my selective reading of Tom Odling's letter to me ----dated 5th September 2007

Third paragraph reads --

Clause 4 states that you are fully responsible for the maintenance and repair to the boathouse and to the wooden slipway to it, however your liability to maintain appears to be mitigated by clause 6 that says once the boathouse becomes too dilapidated to repair it shall be removed and not replaced. Underclause 1 we can give you six months notice and ask you to remove the boathouse and slipway.

I had omitted to include the last paragraph which is as follows--

I would be grateful if you would let me know if you now consider the boathouse and slipway to be beyond repair in which case we can consider its future.

For the omission of the last paragraph I apologies unreservedly to the National Trust . I realise my omission gave a false picture of the Trust's position at Boat Cove.

Yours sincerely Ian Hicks.

Cemetery Path

The parish council will be discussing the surfacing of the path up to the new cemetery in the coming months.
If you have a view on how the path should be finished, now is a good time to express your opinion. Please contact Pippa on 01736 710475. If you are able to put your view in writing, it can be read out at the next parish council meeting on November 1st. Hope to hear from you soon!

Pippa

Radio Cornwall - This Time It Happened

Denis Nightingale from BBC Radio Cornwall arranged an interview, at short notice, with Ian Hicks at 9.30 this morning at Boat Cove.

Ian telephoned myself and Brianna Breeze and asked us to attend. Mr. Nightingale did not want more than 2 - 3 people.

The interview went ahead as planned.

Denis is not responsible for when/if an interview gets aired but feels if it does it will be on Monday 8th October on the breakfast show.

Boat Cove - Marazion and District Forum Letter

Jane Howells, Vice-Chairman of The Marazion And District Forum has written a letter to Mr. Cameron of the National Trust.

The Forum have expressed their support for the retention of the Boathouse and slip at Boat Cove.

A copy of the letter is here; Forum Letter to National Trust

Radio Cornwall

Ian Hicks and myself were contacted by Radio Cornwall today. The intention was to conduct an interview at Boat Cove with ourselves.

Alastair Cameron (National Trust) was also to be interviewed in Helston on the way over to us.

We arrived at Boat Cove at the time stated, 3.45pm, when within minutes Ian's mobile rang, it was the Radio Cornwall interviewer saying that he was sorry but he was not going to be able to carry out the interview as he had had an equipment failure.

It is not known whether or not the interview with Mr. Cameron was carried out.

Boat Cove Needs You

As reported in the Cornishman this week, Alastair Cameron, National Trust property manager for South West Cornwall, has agreed that the boat house at Boat Cove is an important facility for those that use it as well as being an important landmark in the cove.

It would seem though, that they are not prepared to do anything about it without the help of the local community. They want us to form a small working group, presumable to carry out work on the boat house.

Therefore would anybody that is prepared to help please Email or phone 01736 710565 so that we can get a list of names together and present it to the Trust.

We need to get this matter resolved as soon as possible and keep Boat Cove as it has been for generations, an amenity for local people.