HAVING attended a planning meeting on January 15 at County Hall, Truro, during which the planning application by South West Water to site a joint sewage treatment works for Boscastle and Tintagel at Trevalga was on the agenda, I would like to make a few relevant points:

1. The standard of debate on this issue could have been bettered by a class of ten-year-olds. To say that there was a lack of reasoned and informed debate would be an understatement. One county councillor — Colin Brewer (Independent, Wadebridge) — proposed that this application be approved, as he could think of 'no justified planning reasons' to refuse it.'

All I can say to this is that he has either never read the planning policy documents, or made note of the (many) planning policies that this proposal does quite clearly contravene. He obviously, from his comments at this meeting, does not like the Caravan Club site (despite the fact that it has been there since the 1970s, is internationally renowned and generates in the region of well over £500,000 annually for the local economy), calling it a 'scar on the landscape'.

Perhaps he feels that by voting in favour of siting an extremely ugly industrial-type complex very close to it, he would be mitigating the impact of the Caravan Club site in this area. The mind boggles.

This same councillor, at the site meeting on December 18, 2008, stated to a local resident that 'it had to go somewhere.'

Cllr Brewer received an information pack from Trevalga Parish Meeting — in common with all members of the planning committee. He also, when informed that an email had been sent correcting the very sparse (and in places incorrect) minutes of the site meeting produced by Cornwall County Council's Spatial Planning Office, said that he had about 30 emails on his computer, and gave the impression that he had not read (and was not likely to read) this very important communication, which had taken a great deal of time, effort and research to compile.

During this telephone conversation, an attempt was made to engage him in planning policy debate. Planning policy was quoted to him, which was met with a wall of silence, following which he was keen to terminate the conversation.

2. At the meeting, district councillor Janey Comber (Lib-Dem, North Cornwall) acted as a substitute for County Councillor Barbara McTaggart (Lib-Dem, Burraton and Landulph — and Vice Chairperson on the Planning Committee). Should she have declared an interest? (she was a member of Boscastle Sewage Liaison Group (BSLG), who agreed to support South West Water on this scheme if they withdrew their appeal against the refusal of the separate single treatment works for Boscastle at Tresuck, and was a co-signatory of a letter sent to Marlborough College — owners of the Manor of Trevalga — suggesting they should look favourably on SWW's proposal).

3. County Councillor Glenton Brown (Lib-Dem, Tintagel, and Lib-Dem spokesman) was not in attendance at the site meeting on December 18. The Planning Committee Chairman, Cllr Roger Bonney, informed those present that Cllr Brown was attending a One Cornwall meeting instead. This subsequently turned out not to be the case. He was actually at the Crown Court to act as a character witness. At the meeting on January 15, Mr Bonney stated that Cllr Brown had not attended the site meeting because he had been on other council business. Cllr Brown made no attempt correct him. Cllr Brown also made a speech supporting South West Water's planning application. As he had also been a member of BSLG when it was agreed that they would support SWW, and also a co-signatory of the above mentioned letter, in my opinion he should have declared an interest.

4. Ellis Crompton-Brown of Spatial Planning's statement to the Planning Committee also left a great deal to be desired. For instance, although he mentioned the Coastal Footpath (approximately 650 metres from the proposed site), and the Caravan Club site (approximately 400 metres away), he failed to inform the committee of the Gold-Rated Footpath which, at its nearest point, is only approximately 125 metres distant.

Many of us who have been involved with this issue over the last few months are of the opinion that the Spatial Planning Office are 'batting' for SWW, and are not as wholly unbiased as they should be. This was clearly demonstrated in the minutes of the site meeting.

5. Although Chairman Roger Bonney attempted to be as fair as possible to all concerned both at the site meeting and at the meeting on the 15th, those of us in attendance at Truro were dumbfounded by the committee members' failure to invoke planning policy issues. We were left in a state of shock and disbelief as we had previously been informed by Cllr McTaggart that the committee would base their decision-making solely on planning policies.

Cllr Julian German (Independent, Roseland) did try to draw the Committee Members' attention to the AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) Team's report on this site (which recommended it for refusal) but the other committee members seemed to completely disregard this and most of them seemed determined to get this proposal approved and 'out of their hair,' regardless of the planning policy contraventions etc.

The people of Trevalga and Trethevy (as well as many of the residents of Boscastle and Tintagel) feel that they have been bullied and ignored. Our district and county councillors are neither supporting nor representing us, and a small (but vociferous) group of Boscastle residents have 'pushed' this single treatment works our way so that Boscastle will gain all the benefits of adequate sewage treatment, without any of the disadvantages. Trevalga is an extremely small parish without any political or legal representation in this matter and we feel that our views and wishes are of no consequence to either South West Water, Spatial Planning or those members of the planning committee who, without thinking of the long-term effects, wish to get this matter settled with no regard to the legalities involved.

Trevalga.