Basically a fishing village in Cornwall wants to improve its quay to improve access for the fishermen but the rich, second home to$$ers from London (et al) say it will ruin their view!
Because they are rich they have forced a judicial review which will really screw the fishermen as they can't compete on financial grounds in the courts.
For those interested there is already a Facebook support page.
The BBC have picked it up here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7842209.stm
No 10 poll link to follow (in support of the fishermen obviously) but in the meantime from the Telegraph 21 Jan (my bold).......
Fishermen and second home owners step up battle over Helford jetty
To its visitors, Helford is a romantic Cornish village that inspired Daphne du Maurierâs historical novel Frenchmanâs Creek.
But beneath the veneer of tranquillity a dispute is simmering between fishermen and the owners of second homes that threatens to split the community.
The row, which centres on the fishermenâs plans for a new jetty and roadway that would make it easier for them to land their catches, has become so serious that it will now be the subject of a judicial review.
The fishermen claim they are being stopped from building the jetty by a âvillage societyâ that is dominated by second home owners. Plans for the jetty and roadway were approved by Kerrier district council almost two years ago to the satisfaction of local conservation bodies but are now held up because members of the Helford Village Society have forced a judicial review. A hearing is expected in the next two months.
The fishermen say that the jetty is important to their livelihoods.
âA million pounds-worth of fish goes across this beach every year,â said Chris Bean, a fisherman who has been leading attempts to build the jetty.
The areaâs celebrity householders include Sir Tim Rice, the lyricist, and Roger Taylor, the drummer in the rock group Queen.
Mr Taylor, whose home overlooks the proposed site of the jetty, is backing the fishermen. âI cannot see one single reason why the jetty should not be built,â he said.
âFishermen work there all year round and live there all year round and they have a hard life. A jetty would make their lives a lot easier.
âI am not aware of how it would possibly change the scenery. People who do not live there and do not know the area much should just shut up and get on with their lives.â
However, opponents of the scheme say that it would spoil an area of beauty. Nick Jacobs, who has had a second home in Helford for more than 30 years, and runs an asset management company in Mayfair, said the area was âa special spotâ.
âDo I want to see a new road along the seashore? Do I want to see a new car park there? Do I want to see industrial use there, with a lot of concrete, vehicles parked, that sort of thing? No,â he said.
âHelford is a proper, balanced community.
âThere are a lot of second homes but those places are rented out. Itâs an industry, itâs called tourism and it supports local people and for it to be portrayed as a bunch of wealthy, disinterested, distant people is very, very unfair.â
Kerrier district council received 170 letters of objection, with several people sending letters both from their properties in Helford and elsewhere.
Pam Lyne, a Kerrier district and Cornwall county councillor, said: âMost of the objections [to the jetty] are from people who only come here for short periods of time. They do not live in the village. It is not their place of residence, it is their holiday home.â
About 50 of Helfordâs 80 properties are unoccupied for most of the year.
Mr Beanâs son, Dylan, 33, a partner in the fishing business, said: âThe village is like a ghost town in the winter but in the summer it is teeming with people.
âWhen we have had council meetings open to the public, the local residents have all been supportive of the project.
âIt is just a pocketful of people who have second houses in the village who do not want to develop the area.â
Fair makes my blood boil.............I'm getting a double decker luxury outrage bus for this one!!
Because they are rich they have forced a judicial review which will really screw the fishermen as they can't compete on financial grounds in the courts.
For those interested there is already a Facebook support page.
The BBC have picked it up here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7842209.stm
No 10 poll link to follow (in support of the fishermen obviously) but in the meantime from the Telegraph 21 Jan (my bold).......
Fishermen and second home owners step up battle over Helford jetty
To its visitors, Helford is a romantic Cornish village that inspired Daphne du Maurierâs historical novel Frenchmanâs Creek.
But beneath the veneer of tranquillity a dispute is simmering between fishermen and the owners of second homes that threatens to split the community.
The row, which centres on the fishermenâs plans for a new jetty and roadway that would make it easier for them to land their catches, has become so serious that it will now be the subject of a judicial review.
The fishermen claim they are being stopped from building the jetty by a âvillage societyâ that is dominated by second home owners. Plans for the jetty and roadway were approved by Kerrier district council almost two years ago to the satisfaction of local conservation bodies but are now held up because members of the Helford Village Society have forced a judicial review. A hearing is expected in the next two months.
The fishermen say that the jetty is important to their livelihoods.
âA million pounds-worth of fish goes across this beach every year,â said Chris Bean, a fisherman who has been leading attempts to build the jetty.
The areaâs celebrity householders include Sir Tim Rice, the lyricist, and Roger Taylor, the drummer in the rock group Queen.
Mr Taylor, whose home overlooks the proposed site of the jetty, is backing the fishermen. âI cannot see one single reason why the jetty should not be built,â he said.
âFishermen work there all year round and live there all year round and they have a hard life. A jetty would make their lives a lot easier.
âI am not aware of how it would possibly change the scenery. People who do not live there and do not know the area much should just shut up and get on with their lives.â
However, opponents of the scheme say that it would spoil an area of beauty. Nick Jacobs, who has had a second home in Helford for more than 30 years, and runs an asset management company in Mayfair, said the area was âa special spotâ.
âDo I want to see a new road along the seashore? Do I want to see a new car park there? Do I want to see industrial use there, with a lot of concrete, vehicles parked, that sort of thing? No,â he said.
âHelford is a proper, balanced community.
âThere are a lot of second homes but those places are rented out. Itâs an industry, itâs called tourism and it supports local people and for it to be portrayed as a bunch of wealthy, disinterested, distant people is very, very unfair.â
Kerrier district council received 170 letters of objection, with several people sending letters both from their properties in Helford and elsewhere.
Pam Lyne, a Kerrier district and Cornwall county councillor, said: âMost of the objections [to the jetty] are from people who only come here for short periods of time. They do not live in the village. It is not their place of residence, it is their holiday home.â
About 50 of Helfordâs 80 properties are unoccupied for most of the year.
Mr Beanâs son, Dylan, 33, a partner in the fishing business, said: âThe village is like a ghost town in the winter but in the summer it is teeming with people.
âWhen we have had council meetings open to the public, the local residents have all been supportive of the project.
âIt is just a pocketful of people who have second houses in the village who do not want to develop the area.â
Fair makes my blood boil.............I'm getting a double decker luxury outrage bus for this one!!
