Dear friends,

We are now less than a month away from our High Court hearing. As some of you will already know, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) has declared our case to be pivotal for the preservation of our countryside and many throughout the country will be following the outcome of our case with keen interest.

The two grounds for our Claim currently accepted by the High Court are that Cornwall Council breached its duty for failing to give reasons for allowing development PA20/03747 within the AONB and failed to determine whether the development accorded with the Local Development Plan. A third possible ground has come to light and is currently being explored by the legal team.

Site history
Further information about the history & purchase of the PA20/03747 proposed development site has been prepared. This could be highly relevant if the Judicial Review is successful and the planning application is resubmitted.

In summary, planning permission for the PA20/03747 site has been explored on at least three previous occasions. In 1970 permission was refused for a caravan to be installed on the site. In 1989 an application was made to build a private house & guesthouse. The reason for refusal focused on the AONB, arguing that the proposed building would be ‘prominently located’ and would harm the character and appreciation of the area. One of the two local objectors was Mr J.L. Wilton – father to present applicant. In 2016 pre-app advice was sought for 3 small, single storey bungalows as affordable housing. The planners’ response was that “the principle of new built form in this sensitive setting is not accepted’’ but suggested further consultation. This ensued between then applicant and local councilor George Trubody and preventatives of the Maker with Rame Parish Council Chair Chris Wilton and Vice-Chair John Shepherd. All three argued strongly against the proposal. Fuller details of the planning history of the site and the process by which the current applicant acquired the land is available on request.

County land agent
When planning approval was granted for the PA20/03747 application, two things figured prominently in the discussion. One was the support of the parish council on which we have commented before. The other was the County Land Agent’s conclusion that a case could be made for a second unit of accommodation. The County Land Agent relied on information supplied to him by the applicant. As the attached document makes clear, the CLA report includes information on livestock that is incorrect. It could well have made a very significant difference to his conclusion if he had been aware of the actual situation in relation to sheep.

Mention was also made at the planning meeting of supposed dog attacks on Rame Head requiring constant attendance by the farmer. A member of the RPG has received confirmation from the Devon & Cornwall Police that no dog attacks have been reported on Rame Head in the previous 9 years.

Historic England
It is now also abundantly clear that the concerns of many about Historic England not being consulted in relation to the PA20/03747 proposal were extremely well founded as the site abuts an ancient track that connects two medieval buildings of great historical significance. The attached document provides more information and further research is currently underway.

Fundraising and Facebook page
Fundraising continues to be a top priority. More than 500 pledges have now been made to the CrowdJustice site and over £23,000 donated by our wonderful supporters. A number of organisations have likewise offered to support our case, including the CPRE and the Caradon Ramblers Group. Needless to say, these donations are warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Notwithstanding the magnificent support our case has received, we are still some way off achieving the fundraising target. To help with publicity, a staunch supporter has created a Rame Protection Group Facebook page that is now attracting healthy interest and has definitely helped us reach more people over recent weeks. If you have not already done so, do have a look at @RameProtectionGroup and consider sharing some of our posts.

Planning issues in the Rame Head AONB
When we last wrote to you, we mentioned an application by the owners of Polhawn Fort to have lifted the S106 tie that binds the Fort to the adjacent property (PA20/10585). This application has now been refused. The reason for refusal concludes:

"This application has failed to demonstrate that the Section 106 Agreement dated 3rd November 1995 is unnecessary, not directly related to the development and not fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development. This proposal would result in an unencumbered dwelling in an exposed, prominent, rural, cliff top location which is located within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would be contrary to Policy 7 of the Cornwall Local Plan Strategic Policies 2010 - 2030 adopted November 2016 and paragraphs 56 and 79 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2019"

Pre-application advice has been sought for a 3-storey dwelling on New Road adjacent to Cawsand Fort, a Scheduled Monument (PA21/00080/PREAPP). An image of the attached elevations is attached. Members of the public can comment on this proposal at:

https://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=QMV8ZVFG0IS00

For a full overview of planning applications in the area, go to the page below and enter the postcode you are interested in, for example “PL10”:

https://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=planningregisterlink&utm_campaign=planning

Birdlife on Rame Head
A local ornithologist has generously compiled a list of bird species observed in the Rame Head area over recent decades. The list, which features 200 different species, is truly breath taking in its breadth and diversity and we shall make it available on the RPG website very soon.

With best regards,

The RPG Team

Support our crowdfunding campaign to save Rame Head from development!

www.rameprotectiongroup.org
Follow us on Facebook @RameProtectionGroup

In his defence, Councillor Chris Wilton states:

“If you believe that (Private Eye) trash, then I feel for you. Sensationalist journalism at its worst, all supposition and no fact. The Private Eye article about the land purchase is utter rubbish.

“I applied for planning permission like anyone else and the planning committee approved it for the reasons set out under an agricultural tie. Ah... yes, the daily mail article. Why don't you actually look at the planning application and not the news outlets acting as mouthpieces for the incomers to the area who are objecting? Glad to see you seem to side with people who object, but who moved to the area 2 years ago, instead of a 6th generation farmer, who manages and maintains the AONB here!”

“So you would prefer to see the AONB become more intensively farmed, to the detriment of the wildlife I have spent 2 decades encouraging, and see Rame Head become an overgrown, inaccessible wilderness because there will be no animals grazing it, all because of a house you will barely see? Wow, that's a great way to preserve our AONBs.”

But one local rebutted this by stating publicly:

“Chris Wilton is NOT a farmer. His dad is the tenant of a farm, and his dad sublets the land to a farmer. He is known locally to be a climate change denier, to have shot Dartmoor ponies he was supposed to be the caretaker for and to oppose all planning unless you're a friend of his. He is highly ambitious and sits on 2 parish councils. His only defence in response to all of this is purely the local card. He says that it's only the incomers that are against him, but it's definitely not.... It just happens that they are the ones that can afford to spend time and money trying to stand up to him. He has been bullying local people for years."