Events
It has been a busy period for Falmouth events. These started with the Fal River Festival, went on through the Finn Festival and Olympic Torch Relay, past the Shanty Festival and into the J Class yachts regatta and Pendennis Cup. All of these have helped to give the town a high profile and have helped to make it come alive. Congratulations to all those involved.
Planning is now progressing on the new Splash event between 7 and 16th September which will slot in between Falmouth Week and the Oyster Festival in October.
Urbanism award
The town has been shortlisted for an urbanism award and judges are due to visit shortly. Richard Gates is coordinating the visit. Our two resident architects offered assistance with the jargon.
The Town Framework, the Community Plan and a Neighbourhood Plan
The Town Framework is nearing a conclusion. The final consultation is expected to be published in September. The form of the final document is not yet clear.
There was a general feeling that the town could do with a Neighbourhood Plan below the Framework but a recognition that this would be costly. There is no budget currently available and the Town Councils would be required to provide around £25k each. Such a Plan would have to go to referendum whose outcome would be in doubt especially as there is much confusion in the community about the different levels of plan: the Core Strategy, the Town Framework and the Neighbourhood Plan.
It was agreed that the best way forward would be to see what the actual Framework document looked like and try to ensure that as much detail as possible was incorporated in that, thus avoiding the need for a separate Plan. If a Plan were needed then the Forum was happy to help with the content.
Local Transport Plan 2030
Work on the Town Framework has produced a new plan which seeks to cover transport issues up to 2030. At first sight this was not very impressive and did little more than re-cycle previous ideas however, it appears to be the plan on which Cornwall Council is developing its work, despite anything written in Connecting Cornwall 2030 (also known as LTP3). A working group would make contact with the officers concerned in order to try and establish a clear and focused dialogue with CC.
Cycling
A small working group had already met to review the CC proposals. They would be refining their proposals and feeding them back to the CC project team later in the month.
Church Street Car Park
A number of spaces have been barriered off in the car park to carry out repair work. Once this has been completed, it is hoped that the seating proposals will go ahead. The Falmouth Town Council has offered £10k to the latter work which might be completed next year.
Dredging
It is hoped that the team will hear positive news about the trial dredge on Thursday 12 July. If so, then the work would go ahead, costing £180k and taking around six months. The work would be led by Falmouth Harbour Commissioners with the science being validated by the University of Plymouth.
The Penryn River study
This study grew out of that for the Docks and looked at the needs for waterside space on the river to support marine industries. It was progressing well with an initial survey of the major marine industries on the river nearing completion. The next stage would be to survey these businesses and assess future needs and demand.
It was noted that a planning application had been submitted for Falmouth Wharves (not yet available on the online Planning Register). This would include some marine businesses.
Localism
The CIC: After considerable delay, it now appears that CIC matters are beginning to move forward positively. Things remain confidential but FTC and councillors and senior members of staff at Cornwall Council are now of like mind on a solution and there will be more news very soon.
Prince of Wales pier: an advertisement had recently appeared in the local newspapers, inviting tenders for the running of events on Prince of Wales pier. Interested bodies were invited to bid.
Devolution of management: it is recognised at CC that devolution to local control of assets from CC to other groups has gone swiftly in some cases but too slowly in others. An effort is being made to speed things up. Falmouth has, so far, only pitched to run the municipal building.
Governance review: CC is conducting a governance review, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the cabinet and committee models. Enquiry days are being held on 17 July and 17 September.
Citizenship for Life: this is a local scheme which helps 12 young people with a series of monthly events. There would be a final celebration of their work at Eden on 7 December. One of the places visited by the young people had been the School for Social Entrepreneurs which has a Cornwall branch.
Crime: there had been a recent spike in crime which appeared mostly to be caused by under 16 year olds between 3pm and 7pm. The police were exploring solutions. This emphasised the need for some out of school activities or places for them to go.
Fal Energy Partnership
The FEP had done a recent presentation to the Falmouth Business Club and was due to hold another partnership meeting on 20 July at 7:30. There would be a Zero Carbon Day on 21 July on the Moor. They are looking to work with smaller groups on specific projects.
Other town issues
Rubbish: there are continuing issues with the standards being set by Cornwall Council for rubbish collection and cleaning.
Car parking: it was good to hear that Cornwall Council had been consulting the Town Manager in advance on possible charges for car parking.
The Maritime Line 150th anniversary
The railway line to Falmouth would be celebrating its 150th anniversary in August 2013 and a series of events, visits and special trains rides were being planned (toot toot).
Tremough
The Tremough Campus Services Group has been re-branded as Falmouth Exeter Plus.
The name reflects the fact that the Tremough Campus is shared and jointly operated by University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter, and the added value that Falmouth Exeter Plus brings to the partnership through its development of, and investment in, shared facilities and services for the two Higher Education partners.
These shared services include IT and audio visual services, library and information services, dyslexia support, academic skills support, reprographics, capital development, facilities management, infrastructure planning, carbon management, sustainability monitoring, timetabling, reception, counselling, student living support, nursery, accessibility support, chaplaincy, student accommodation, sports and recreation facilities, catering and hospitality services, retail outlets, and conference and events management.
Falmouth Exeter Plus also delivers a number of shared services at University College Falmouth’s Woodlane Campus.
CUC should not be used to describe the Tremough Campus. CUC is the wider partnership of University College Falmouth, the University of Exeter, Plymouth University, Truro College, Penwith College, Cornwall College and the Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry. This partnership gives more people the chance to study in Cornwall, and uses university level education to support the county’s businesses and communities.
Those attending
A&P Docks - Mike Reynolds
Ambassadors – David Pollard
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Civic Society - Mike Jenks
Cornwall Council - Charlotte Chadwick
Falmouth Age Concern - Sally Stiles
Falmouth Exeter Plus - Jilly Easterby
Federation of Small Businesses - Caroline Robinson
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
RIBA – Christopher Smith
Transition Falmouth - Jeremy Tridgell
Transport Working Group – John Bottomley
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Meeting – May 2012
9 May 2012 at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Neighbourhood Plan The idea of producing a Neighbourhood Plan had still not been resolved. A Plan could provide a third layer of planning below the Core Strategy and Local Development Framework and would be a material consideration in planning applications. A great benefit would be that it would be bottom-up rather than top-down: led by the Town Council rather than Cornwall Council. It would take time and would need to be put to a local referendum which would, ideally, be timed to coincide with some other voting process in the community (eg the May local elections in 2013).
If a Neighbourhood Plan were produced then the updating of the Community Plan could be incorporated into it to tackle the community, rather than urban planning, issues. If not, then there would be a need to update the Community Plan.
The Forum supported the idea of producing a Plan but matters had not progressed significantly since the discussions in March as the Town Council still appeared undecided on whether to support the idea.
Cycling proposals
Cornwall Council had put forward some proposals for new walking/cycling routes around the town as part of their implementation of Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3 in the jargon). These had had a mixed reception as no one had known that the proposals were being worked up and the reasoning and strategy had not been explained.
Things were now being clarified. The proposal was to help achieve a modal shift in behaviour amongst commuters in Falmouth and Penryn. Members were invited to comment on the generality of the ideas, suggesting alternative uses for the money to achieve the same objective: covered storage, new crossings, bike racks etc. Comments are required by the end of May. Cornwall Council will then summarise the proposals and consult on the implementation, scheme by scheme.
Town Manager and BID updates
Congratulations to the Falmouth Gig Club on their World Championship successes for both Men and Ladies. Commiserations to the Falmouth Beach Hotel.
The main activities highlighted were
- The Finn Festival which was currently happening out of the Watersports Centre
- The Olympic Torch Relay which would be arriving on Saturday 19 May
- The Fal River Festival at the beginning of June
Work had been progressing on the proposals for a seating area on Church Street Car Park. FTC was supportive of this and had committed £10k to the ideas. Cornwall Council had agreed to the idea of a long lease. The project team was now approaching the BID for financial help. Cornwall Council was planning remedial work to the sea wall over the winter and so it was unlikely the new area would be open before summer 2013.
There was no further news on the Localism proposals. Cornwall Council was consulting with FTC on the idea of a ‘revised model of managing’ public conveniences but any wider scheme for the devolution of other services was not being discussed.
The idea of a CIC for Prince of Wales Pier was also stalled. This would need FTC’s support and a lack of CC officer time had prevented the necessary discussions. This was a loss as match-funding could be used to make the whole larger than the parts.
Work on the Docks Masterplan had been affected by a recent controversial talk on the dredging proposals at the Poly. This, it was felt, had simply reinforced positions rather than clarified them and had led to a flood of campaigning emails. Authorisation for the dredging trial was expected within one month. CC Cabinet support was also being sought.
Cornwall Council update
The main item to look out for was the discussion about the stadium which was scheduled for Tuesday 15th.
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
Having been fairly quiet since January, the LEP had sprung into action and published a draft strategy on which they were seeking views before the end of May. See their website. Given the time available, members were advised to respond direct and directly.
Fal Energy Partnership (FEP)
The FEP had produced a free Information Pack for householders which was being circulated. More information is available from their website.
Those attending
Ambassadors – David Pollard
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Cornwall Council - Mike Varney
Cornwall Marine Network – Paul Wickes
Falmouth Age Concern - Sally Stiles
Falmouth Business Club – Andy Coote
Falmouth Churches Together - Neil Tinson
Falmouth Town Council - Mark Williams
Falmouth Town Council - Oliver Cramp
Falmouth Town Council - Diane Merrett
FDHA – Shaun Davie
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
RIBA – Christopher Smith
The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society - Mike Jenks
Transition Falmouth - Lorely Lloyd
Transport Working Group – John Bottomley
Watersports Centre – Jackie George
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Meeting - March 2012
Falmouth Energy Partnership
Charmian Larke and Nick Swallow joined the meeting to report on the work of the Falmouth Energy Partnership. Supported by a grant from the Department of Energy, the Partnership had been exploring the possibilities of the local Falmouth area achieving zero carbon emissions and the implications of this.
Current climate change predictions were that a change of 2 degrees C was the lower limit and that this would raise sea levels by around 10m, inundating much of the Fal area. We were already past peak oil and therefore energy costs were likely to continue to rise as well. The matter was therefore doubly urgent.
The highest use of energy locally is in oil for transport and home heating, and gas in the home. Key areas for reduction are the use of oil and emissions from the production of electricity. A mix of renewable sources could provide 75% of the power required in the area.
The Falmouth Energy Partnership was holding a meeting about wind turbines at 19:00 on Friday 16 March in the WI. The launch of the initiative was to be at 19:00 on 28 March at the Poly at which it was intended to launch a social enterprise which would carry out a range of demonstration projects.
Anyone who wished to get involved should email.
Localism and the Prince of Wales Pier
There had been some concern that the creation of a CIC for the Prince of Wales pier had begun to head off in the wrong direction, being limited to a contract to run a series of events. Mike Varney confirmed that this was not the intention and that a management agreement was needed. Cornwall Council would retain its responsibility for the fabric. Further progress would be made once the Community Network Manager returned from leave.
Sainsbury’s
The Sainsbury development had signed a Section 106 agreement. The community funds arising from this would be managed and spent by a new group which would be mostly filled by community representatives. If that group were to obtain match-funding then it would be necessary to limit the number of councillors involved.
Neighbourhood Framework
The consultation on the Core Strategy and Local Development Framework had now closed. The Town Council had responded. There was still a feeling amongst some people that the proposals were still to top-down and not sufficiently derived through an assessment of local needs.
The question of a Neighbourhood Plan was discussed. The Town Council was not yet convinced this was necessary although other advice was that it was essential if planning generally were to be harmonised in the town as a Neighbourhood Plan could be a material consideration in planning applications. If one were to be produced then it should not be done in a hurry (eg by November when there was an opportunity to put it to a referendum) but should be carefully considered (eg by May 2013). It was not essential that the Town Council be involved but this was obviously desirable given the need to engage the local planning committee. A revision of the Community Plan would not go far enough; a document with wider scope would be needed.
Mike Jenks would discuss this with Town Council and report back with a view on what role the Forum might play in the future.
BID priorities for the year
The BID had a prioritised list of projects for the year ahead:
The Eastern Park and Ride had now been approved by the Planning Committee after a fairly stormy meeting. The idea of a southern Park and Ride between Truro and Falmouth was back on the agenda but it was highly unlikely to be at Treluswell.
New Falmouth guide
A new Falmouth guide was in production supported by the BID. This would contain 17 pages of public transport information so no one would have any excuse of not knowing when the No 37 bus came past their front door.
Those attending
Charmian Larke - Falmouth Energy Partnership
Nick Swallow - Falmouth Energy Partnership
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Cornwall Council - Mike Varney
Falmouth Age Concern - Sally Stiles
Falmouth Chamber of Commerce - Jeremy Edwards
Falmouth Churches Together - Neil Tinson
Falmouth Harbour Commissioners - John Langan
Falmouth Packet - Jonathan Millar
Falmouth Town Council - Mark Williams
Falmouth Town Council - Oliver Cramp
Fal River Links - Tim Light
Federation of Small Businesses - Caroline Robinson
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society - Mike Jenks
Transition Falmouth - Lorely Lloyd
Charlotte MacKenzie
Charmian Larke and Nick Swallow joined the meeting to report on the work of the Falmouth Energy Partnership. Supported by a grant from the Department of Energy, the Partnership had been exploring the possibilities of the local Falmouth area achieving zero carbon emissions and the implications of this.
Current climate change predictions were that a change of 2 degrees C was the lower limit and that this would raise sea levels by around 10m, inundating much of the Fal area. We were already past peak oil and therefore energy costs were likely to continue to rise as well. The matter was therefore doubly urgent.
The highest use of energy locally is in oil for transport and home heating, and gas in the home. Key areas for reduction are the use of oil and emissions from the production of electricity. A mix of renewable sources could provide 75% of the power required in the area.
It would be possible to achieve local self-reliance with an increase in renewables and:
- 50% less demand for transport
- 35% drop in demand for electricity
- Better heated homes
Growing sufficient food locally to provide a traditional diet. To meet these
long term energy resilience targets would take an investment programme of £8m
pa which is the equivalent of about £200 per person per year.
In discussion it emerged that:
In discussion it emerged that:
- There had not been a change in the sea level on the Penryn River over the last 100 years
- Cornwall Council are planning for a 1m rise in sea level over the coming 100 years
- There are currently only 90 wind turbines in the county. If replaced by larger ones, this could be reduced to 30
- It could be made mandatory that all new build should include pv cells but this made the houses uneconomic
The Falmouth Energy Partnership was holding a meeting about wind turbines at 19:00 on Friday 16 March in the WI. The launch of the initiative was to be at 19:00 on 28 March at the Poly at which it was intended to launch a social enterprise which would carry out a range of demonstration projects.
Anyone who wished to get involved should email.
Localism and the Prince of Wales Pier
There had been some concern that the creation of a CIC for the Prince of Wales pier had begun to head off in the wrong direction, being limited to a contract to run a series of events. Mike Varney confirmed that this was not the intention and that a management agreement was needed. Cornwall Council would retain its responsibility for the fabric. Further progress would be made once the Community Network Manager returned from leave.
Sainsbury’s
The Sainsbury development had signed a Section 106 agreement. The community funds arising from this would be managed and spent by a new group which would be mostly filled by community representatives. If that group were to obtain match-funding then it would be necessary to limit the number of councillors involved.
Neighbourhood Framework
The consultation on the Core Strategy and Local Development Framework had now closed. The Town Council had responded. There was still a feeling amongst some people that the proposals were still to top-down and not sufficiently derived through an assessment of local needs.
The question of a Neighbourhood Plan was discussed. The Town Council was not yet convinced this was necessary although other advice was that it was essential if planning generally were to be harmonised in the town as a Neighbourhood Plan could be a material consideration in planning applications. If one were to be produced then it should not be done in a hurry (eg by November when there was an opportunity to put it to a referendum) but should be carefully considered (eg by May 2013). It was not essential that the Town Council be involved but this was obviously desirable given the need to engage the local planning committee. A revision of the Community Plan would not go far enough; a document with wider scope would be needed.
Mike Jenks would discuss this with Town Council and report back with a view on what role the Forum might play in the future.
BID priorities for the year
The BID had a prioritised list of projects for the year ahead:
- To continue to make Falmouth.co.uk the most exciting and innovative website in Cornwall
- To continue to work with Cruise ships
- To continue the active pr campaign, especially in support of the many events happening during the year
- To make those events happen, especially the Spring, Arts and Food and Drink Festivals
- To continue work on the signage project which had failed to be fully funded under the Seaside Towns initiative in 2011. A possible bid to a new Coastal Communities fund was being considered
- To continue the free parking project
More details from the website.
Falmouth events programme for the year
A full list of a very active events programme was available from the website (download 2012 events here)
Falmouth events programme for the year
A full list of a very active events programme was available from the website (download 2012 events here)
Falmouth Town Council update
- The Parish Meeting had been held on Monday evening
- The future of the Regeneration Group had been in doubt following the creation of a new Strategy and regeneration Group but it had been decided to keep the existing Regeneration Group with slightly changed Terms of Reference
- Geoffrey Evans had been selected as mayor-elect for a further year
- The refurbishment of Kimberley Park was a Council priority for the year
- A joint meeting between the Forum and the Council was proposed as a way of ensuring closer working in the future
The Eastern Park and Ride had now been approved by the Planning Committee after a fairly stormy meeting. The idea of a southern Park and Ride between Truro and Falmouth was back on the agenda but it was highly unlikely to be at Treluswell.
New Falmouth guide
A new Falmouth guide was in production supported by the BID. This would contain 17 pages of public transport information so no one would have any excuse of not knowing when the No 37 bus came past their front door.
Those attending
Charmian Larke - Falmouth Energy Partnership
Nick Swallow - Falmouth Energy Partnership
Civic Society - Dick Stiles
Cornwall Council - Mike Varney
Falmouth Age Concern - Sally Stiles
Falmouth Chamber of Commerce - Jeremy Edwards
Falmouth Churches Together - Neil Tinson
Falmouth Harbour Commissioners - John Langan
Falmouth Packet - Jonathan Millar
Falmouth Town Council - Mark Williams
Falmouth Town Council - Oliver Cramp
Fal River Links - Tim Light
Federation of Small Businesses - Caroline Robinson
National Maritime Museum Cornwall - Jonathan Griffin (chair)
The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society - Mike Jenks
Transition Falmouth - Lorely Lloyd
Charlotte MacKenzie
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