While the news that Falmouth could soon have its own boardwalk has been greeted by a mix of incredulity and surprise by the public, one thing that has not become clearer is how this expensive scheme progressed so far in secret.

No-one seems to want to talk about how money meant to offset the damaging effects of yet another supermarket was earmarked for such a grandiose plan. Who exactly is driving this forward?

Your pal the Skipper is torn on this subject. On one hand it seems that this could be a good idea for the town as a whole, a better connection to the waterside can only be a good thing.

Although exactly what the great and the good who own waterside homes will say about having a parade of gawkers passing by their windows for 16 hours a day, only time will tell.

The other point is exactly how a new route bypassing the main shops will help trade, counterintuitive does not even begin to describe this.

Now £500,000 (and let’s face it it will end up costing a lot more) is a lot of money, especially as we are told we cannot afford enough to pay for toilets, health care, police officers etc, but I guess there is always cash for a good old fashioned vanity project.

I have been called a cynic in the past, and this may be adding two and two and coming up with a Community Interest Company, but is it just coincidence that it is planned from the very asset that has just been handed over to a undemocratic group against the town council’s wishes?

When large sums of cash are spent like water, transparency is key, and this plan has not had the best of starts.