There is a Peaceful protest gaining momentum to Protect Harveys Towans and the chalets. This is supported by Save our Sands, Friends of The Towans and some very well connected people in our Town. We are all hoping this sends a strong message to George Eustice, Peter Bainbridge the Planning Officer at Cornwall Council and the Developer Simon Wright, that we have had enough. No more loss of wildlife habitat and no more concrete.
Save Our Sands Hayle
Here are the details of our protest.
Why are we protesting?
We are protesting because of a number of reasons.
There is no planning permission or planning applications for anything on Harvey's Towans. This area is to be returned to dune as part of the S106's of the North Quay development. This includes no permission for a change of use from a residential chalet to a water sport business. There was no permission for the single track to be made a double track, none to install ducting, and definitely no permission to reprofile a dune after the sea buckthorn was cut and treated. This treatment of the area goes completely against the developer's own Dune Management Plan which was produced by EDP who are their ecologists. "Planning permission was given to the North Quay development subject to the fulfillment of various planning conditions and Section 106 agreements, including those designed to protect the habitats and species interests within the site and adjacent dunes under the ownership of the developer". Clearly this is not what is supposed to be happening, and so is against the developer's own planning permission.
Then of course we have the hilltop area which is a huge scar in the landscape. This is a site that is part of a planning application, which is yet to be determined. The World Heritage Site office and ICOMOS are still against the proposed development as there are too many buildings still planned for this area. Development here needs to be a light touch as it is the setting of the WHS. If anyone has seen this area it is half a sand dune. The sand has been removed and sold. There is an active enforcement order here because of this.
Now you may have guessed that to reinstate Harvey's Towans car park back to dune, return the double track to single track, and stabilise the dune slope on hilltop is going to need a lot of sand. The developer also needs to create a dune habitat on Riviere Fields as part of the S106's. Where is all this sand going to come from? Well according to planning documents this is going to be from dredging operations in the harbour and channel. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand removed from the closed sediment cell of the St. Ives Bay. This will result in devastation along the beaches and dunes of the bay. We would lose our only form of sea defence, the rare species that exist on the dunes would be affected, the developer's own Western Gateway area would be at severe risk of tidal flooding, and economically our tourist industry would be badly affected.
One more thing. The developer states that he is working with the Towans Partnership and the Towans Ranger with regards to his planning application. However, this is untrue, and why we feel that we have now exhausted all other channels. Why can I say that? Because I am the Chairman of the Towans Partnership.
So that's why we are protesting!