Docks firm makes ferry route switch
A BID to tempt the Isles of Scilly ferry to shift from Penzance to Falmouth has been stepped up with the intervention of a major docks company.
A&P in Falmouth has offered to match-fund a £3,500 analysis of the move – a study which the Western Morning News revealed last week had been ordered by the Council for the Isles of Scilly.
-
Falmouth
Peter Child, managing director of A&P, confirmed the offer but denied that the firm was trying to snatch the money-spinning link away from Penzance, where plans for a new ferry terminal are mired in controversy.
"We have offered £3,500," said Mr Child.
"The Council of the Isles of Scilly wanted to do a feasibility study to look at another operation and we believe Falmouth is very feasible.
"Obviously, Penzance is the first choice, but if it does fall through, we will have to do the study anyway, so we might as well do it now."
The news was dismissed as a bid to twist the arm of protesters in Penzance into accepting unpopular proposals to build a new passenger and freight terminal on the historic Battery Rocks area of town.
But Mr Child insisted that Falmouth was a workable – and in many ways desirable – destination for the Isles of Scilly ferry.
He said A&P could offer good-quality harbour facilities and confirmed revelations already published in the WMN that it could reduce the bill for the overall scheme by £10 million.
And he said that Falmouth had a bigger tourist catchment than Penzance – and it offered the possibility of boosting the number of visitors travelling to the islands.
"At the moment, everything is set up for Penzance, but if that fails, the Isles of Scilly needs a link and we are quite happy to be plan B."
John Maggs, of Friends of Penzance Harbour (FoPH), said it was a thinly veiled attempt to "intimidate" protesters.
The planning application for the Penzance facility was submitted last week and puts forward two alternatives, Option A, which is for a single passenger and freight near the current ferry dock and, confusingly, Option C. This would involve an out-of-town freight handling facility and a passenger terminal in the now-redundant Trinity House Museum near the docks.
FoPH has consistently fought Option A on the grounds it would ruin a historic headland and the large-scale development would mean locals enduring two years of "hell" in terms of construction traffic.
Mr Maggs said the case for switching the ferry to Falmouth did not add up and, importantly, the funding for the scheme was available only for Penzance.
He added that the running costs for a much longer journey would discourage passengers and mean millions extra spent on fuel every year.
"The whole thing does not bear up to even 30 seconds of scrutiny," he said.
20 Comments
View all
by A local, Cornwall
Saturday, October 31 2009, 10:09PM
“Gerald, it was Penzance Chamber of Commerce. And look what they've done for the town since!”
by Gerald, Tenerife
Friday, October 30 2009, 10:00PM
“I can remember many years ago Marks & Spencer wanting to come to Penzance. Was it the then council or the local traders who stopped them?
So they went to Truro, and as they say the rest is history.
Lets learn the lession.”
by William Cox, Penzance
Friday, October 30 2009, 3:58PM
“In reply to John in Penzance, I will agree that the whole harbour area is in need of improvement, but this has nothing to do with the Route Partnership plans for the Isles of Scilly link and the money is not available for this. Perhaps Cornwall Council should be made aware of it and provide some of the money for regeneration, problem is their broke at the moment.
I think you will agree that Penzance benefits greatly from tourism and we need to make the right decisions in any development to keep our town attractive, not only for the local community, but for the many tourists that visit our town and spend their money here. We have seen so much of the wrong development in the last forty years and certain areas have been completely spoilt, especially the approach to Penzance.
If the Route Partnership plan option A were to go ahead, it would spoil another attractive part of the town, it¿s much more than a stony beach that would be lost. Although it might seem a short time of inconvenience for some, two years to complete the option A project, it would have a devastating affect on the Penzance holiday trade. To provide the material to service the project, it is estimated that fifty 20 ton lorries would enter Penzance each day, drive along the congested harbour road, tip their load and depart along the promenade and up Alexander road.
This project will create a huge carbon footprint on us all, especially in an age when we are all concerned about global warming. The Isles of Scilly residents are well aware of these problems with rising sea levels posing a great threat.
I think we all agree that the Isles of Scilly link must be maintained, but the above considerations have to be taken into account. Whatever option is taken and option C may not be any more expensive than it is at present, the fact remains that running a larger boat to the islands throughout the year will be more expensive to run and freight may end up being more expensive to the islanders for this reason alone.
I maintain that carefully thought out development will benefit the town, bring investment and provide jobs for future generations.”
by John, Penzance
Friday, October 30 2009, 1:38PM
“Like you William I have spent most of my adult working Life in Penzance and have seen many changes over the years. Tha addition of a toliet block against the sea wall, the Rank building once a Fish market becoming a freight shed, the harbour's resources being left to rot with no money spent on them, dredging done at great cost to see all the sand swept straight back in. Holman's going bust, being saved, going bust, being saved. What is all this heritage you talk of? Penzance has always struggled with it's harbour, we finally have a chance to do something reasonable with it and we have to save a bit of beach?
No we don't and for the Scillonians this is a 'life line' service.
Nobody seems to care about where this leaves them as a community paying for Option C As usual in Cornwall we'll spend another 10 years infighting, watch all the investment disappear and then wonder where our kids are going to live and work in the future.”
by A local, Cornwall
Friday, October 30 2009, 12:54PM
“"What other Cornish town would fill in half its harbour to make a car park?" - Truro actually - now the Piazza!
"As for creating employment, I don't think running a slightly larger boat to the islands is going to provide the answer any more than it does now." - No, but if they move to Falmouth the loss of jobs will be felt more widely.”