On behalf Falmouth Bay Residents' Association (FBRA) I would like to respond to the comment made in last week’s Packet questioning why we made no representations at the recent Falmouth Town Council (FTC) planning committee meeting at which the proposal by Linden Homes to build 28 homes on a prime, greenfield site at Swanpool was discussed.

FBRA is leading the campaign against this development and committee members have together spent, literally, hundreds of hours in researching, recording and collating a wide range of evidence against the application. We have also spent considerable time lobbying FTC to reconsider its support for the proposal which it endorsed when the application was first presented in January.

When it was learned that there was a second opportunity to persuade FTC to change its position we provided all planning committee members with a synopsis of the information we had gathered. We believed we presented a compelling case and were delighted when the committee withdrew its support for the proposal. In our letter to councillors we explained that we were more than willing to attend meetings and engage further if they felt we had not proved our case. Cllr. Alan Jewell, who reported his surprise at our non-attendance at the meeting, may have missed this point; it was made at the end of a rather long submission. There is no implied criticism here, indeed we are very grateful to Alan for providing further important evidence to the committee and for ensuring that the application is referred to the Cornwall Council planning committee rather than being decided by planning officers. (It is expected that the final decision on the proposal will be taken at the Central Sub-Area Planning Committee meeting in July or August).

We are also pleased that our dialogue with FTC on this matter over the past 6 months has been conducted in a calm and professional manner. Furthermore, we would like to take this opportunity of recording our appreciation and support for the enlightened and proactive approach FTC is taking with various new initiatives including the Neighbourhood Plan project which, when adopted, should ensure that development proposals such as the one at Swanpool, harmful to the interests of Falmouth, are a thing of the past.

David Yelland,

For Falmouth Bay Residents’ Association