'Work together' plea follows U-turn on ferry link scheme

A NEW ferry link between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly could be up and running in three years after the plans for Penzance Harbour were finally given the go-ahead this week.

The overall cost of the project has rocketed by more than 40% since the proposals for a combined freight and passenger terminal in Penzance were first submitted last February.

But Cornwall Council leaders have now called for the community in Penzance to "work constructively together" after listed building consent for Option A was approved.

The decision by the strategic planning committee came three months after it originally turned down the application following objections by English Heritage.

On Monday, Cornwall Council's head of planning and regeneration, Phil Mason, told the committee that the statutory body had not fully balanced its views about the harm to the listed structures with the benefits to the community.

He said it was the committee's job to weigh up that balance and made a "strong recommendation" to them to approve the application based on the significant benefits to Penzance and Scilly.

A four-hour debate ensued in the packed council chamber at County Hall. Speakers from the supporting campaign groups, "A Future for Penzance" and the "True Friends of Penzance and the Isles of Scilly" joined Route Partnership project director Tim Wood and Council of the Isles of Scilly vice-chair Marian Bennett to give presentations in favour of the scheme. The newly-formed Penzance Business Network outlined its plans for an alternative scheme, known as Option PZ, joining Friends of Penzance Harbour campaigners and Penzance Town Council to speak against the plans.

Outside the meeting, Graeme Hicks, Cornwall Council's portfolio holder for transport, said he was "ecstatic" about the decision, which was carried by 14 votes to seven.

He said: "I genuinely hope we can put the cards on the table and work for the best for Penzance. I think there are deep divisions. I don't like what this has done. What we have got to look for now is to heal the wounds to work constructively together."

Shocked

Council leader Alec Robertson described it as a relief. But Penzance Town Council's Deputy Mayor Jan Ruhrmund said it was a sad day for the town.

"I was quite shocked to see how little regard there is for localism, for genuine local involvement," she said.

Friends of Penzance Harbour spokesman John Maggs said the committee had made themselves look foolish by reversing their decision.

"They have committed themselves to approval of the partial destruction of a listed building against the specific objection of English Heritage," he said.

Cornwall Council said delays caused by a failure to gain planning approval in December, and those anticipated by an approaching General Election, had pushed up the cost of the project from £44 million to £62 million.