Meeting - January 2012

The meeting was devoted to a review of the year ahead, identifying areas where the Forum could make a contribution to the continued regeneration of the town.

Leadership

• Cornwall Council, Town Council and BID: the Forum will continue to support the main agencies working for the development of the town, building relationships and influence.
• The Falmouth and Penryn Community Plan: although recognised by some, the Community Plan is not referred to by others. The Forum will initiate a review and re-launch.
• Localism: the devolution of decision making to local areas is a real opportunity. The Forum will support the work that was going on to create a CIC to manage part of the town.
• Energy: good work is going on to encourage people to reduce energy consumption and looking at alternative energy sources. The Forum will support these 

Economics

• The LEP: the Local Enterprise Partnership is still forming its views on the priorities for Cornwall. The Forum will continue to contribute to the debate, seeking to maximise the benefit for the town including exploring the options for Falmouth becoming a Local Enterprise Zone.
• Docks masterplan: the Forum supports the development of the Docks and dredging, and will be following the developments with interest, supporting where necessary.
• Penryn River plan: the Forum welcomes the work taking place on this plan which is looking at what policies were needed to enhance the economic strengths of the Penryn River.
• Visitor economy: the Forum will contine to support work to enhance and improve the visitor economy of the town.
• Tremough Innovation Centre: the Forum will continue to work with the university campus to maximise the benefit of its new developments, especially Cornwall Council's Innovation Centre which is due to open shortly.
• Superfast broadband: it is unclear when this was due to arrive in Falmouth. Individuals can check on their own telephone number at a Superfast Cornwall website

The town environment

• The Mary Portas Report: this was influenced by the Falmouth BID submission. The report contained some useful pointers and ideas. The Chamber and Town Manager are working on implementation of some of these.
• Transport: transport issues remains a major cause for concern. The Forum will continue to do what it can to make the town safe and accessible, and to remove as much traffic from the main street as possible. Work is needed on traffic, car parking and Falmouth as a cycling demonstration area.
• Church Street car park: the Forum will continue to campaign to make this car park a pleasant community environment.
• Sainsbury’s development: planning permission has been agreed in principle. The Forum will work with the developers to limit the impact on the town's existing commercial businesses and to use the supermarket's presence to help enhance the town.

Policies/strategies

• Cornwall Core Strategy: this has recently been published and all are encouraged to read and respond to it. (The website is complex and it takes courage to find the main documents)
• Local Framework Plan: this had also been published. This is more specific to Falmouth and looks at potential areas of expansion of the towns of Falmouth and Penryn. The planning predictions are that the area will need to accommodate another 4,000 homes over the planning period. Elected representatives' response to the discussion paper is also available (scroll to the bottom of the page).
• Cornwall Marine Strategy: the consultation on this is closing on 18 January. There is a need for balance between economic use of the seas and coasts and the preservation of the environment.
• Finding Sanctuary: the work that was done in 2011 identifying a Reference Site in the River Fal had come in for considerable criticism both for the process by which it was arrived at and for the scientific grounds on which it was based. The Forum will do what it can to support a rational approach which does not prejudice the development of the town and its people.
• Falmouth by Design 2: the Forum supports the proposal to develop some design guidance to assist planning decisions in the town.

Those attending the meeting:
A & P Docks - Mike Reynolds
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Cornwall Council - Mike Varney
Falmouth BID - Richard Wilcox
Falmouth Business Club - Andy Coote
Falmouth Chamber of Commerce - Jeremy Edwards
Falmouth and District Hotels Association - Shaun Davie
Falmouth Town Council - Mark Williams
Falmouth Town Manager - Richard Gates
Falmouth Watersports Association - Jackie George
Fal River Links - Tim Light
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
RIBA - Christopher Smith
Transition Falmouth - Lorely Lloyd
Transport Working Group - John Bottomley
Transport Worling Group - David Pollard
UCF, UoE and Tremough Campus Services Group - Jilly Easterby