As regards the proposed community local housing project at Bosvale, I hope it might be helpful to understand the views of the Bosvale Community Association.

Frankly, we are hugely grateful to Abbeyfield for taking on this project. They are a national charity which has been committed to meeting the needs of the older residents of Falmouth for well over 40 years.

Continuing this involvement, Abbeyfield is now planning to provide a further tranche of affordable homes for the elderly in our area whilst at the same time including new, much improved, community facilities at the heart of the proposed development.

For many years now the Bosvale Community Association has done everything it can to maintain the existing facility at rates which everybody could afford. We are not a profit-making organisation, we are a local charity dedicated to meeting the needs of the local community – but let us be clear: we are now at a stage where unless the roof, if not the whole building, is replaced we will have to close down. Not only has Abbeyfield offered to include a brand new Community Centre in their plans, they are offering us increased space and better facilities which will enable us to continue to provide our premises to the many community groups and local individuals we currently serve.

What has perhaps not been fully realised is that Abbeyfield’s plans also include the clearance of the unusable scrubland that today covers over a third of the site, to create a parkland for the enjoyment of the whole community. In doing so they will deliver a usable recreational area which is actually larger than the present rather run-down open space. 

As someone intimately involved with the Bosvale Community Association, I genuinely believe that this project is a fantastic opportunity for our area and I urge the doubters to reserve judgement until the Public Consultation which, I gather, will take place sometime in June.

Tony Canton,
Chairman,
Bosvale Community Association