Don’t let this threat to Falmouth life go ahead
11:06am Wednesday 18th July 2012 in Letters
IT was astonishing to read the explanation given by Falmouth Town Council to justify their support of the outrageous Premier Inn proposal.
Understandable though it is that much of the opposition is from existing catering businesses, the thrust of the objections is far more to do with issues such as public safety, the near-impossibility of traffic-management for the benefit of visitors to Events Square, undetected errors and even misrepresentation in the planning application itself, the geotechnical assessment and failure to reveal the true provision of parking in the hotel premises.
In response to a request for more information from the town management, I was advised that the only matters under consideration were design, harm to the Conservation Area and “neighbourliness” (my italics!). On the design issue, the committee felt the new presentation was less imposing, reduced in height, “more in keeping with the area” and therefore acceptable.
On neighbourliness, the only comment was that Devon and Cornwall Police did not object.
Conservation evidently, does not arise. They disagreed with me, that “a majority of Falmouth residents appear to disapprove”.
A larger sample to test your 57 per cent against, would be interesting.
Please do not let this serious threat to life in Falmouth go unchallenged.
The Events Square environment, probably the biggest tourism magnet in Falmouth, is the epicentre of very much of our culture, entertainment and marine activity.
Derek Oswald (sent by email)
