A year in news: The Packet's Review of 2014

JANUARY

• CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to build a hotel, flats and light industrial units on Falmouth Wharves were making a final stand after developers lodged an appeal against the refusal of their plans
• Restronguet Point was named as the most expensive address in Cornwall, and the third most expensive in the whole of the South West.
• The Cornish pasty joined Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies by becoming a food with European Protected Geographical Indication.
•  The new year heralded the start of a new chapter for the former Falmouth Primary School which became Falmouth Primary Academy.
•  At the end of his first week as chief executive of Cornwall Council, Andrew Kerr told a Packet reporter: “I am determined to do the best I can for the people of Cornwall.”
•  A third attempt to win permission to build a Premier Inn in the centre of Falmouth was thrown out by Cornwall Council’s planners.
• Brian Mills, of Hillside Road, Falmouth, had a rude awakening when a 70ft fir tree crashed down in his back garden during a severe storm.
• Penryn College’s longest-serving teacher, Alan Hulbert, retired after 37 years of service to the school.

FEBRUARY

• Falmouth’s taxi marshal service was given a one-month reprieve after John Richards, owner of Infinitus Security, offered to fund the service for four weeks free of charge.
• Volunteers from the Glasney Green Space Regeneration Project and the EcoSoc at Tremough Campus planted 5,000 daffodil bulbs in Penryn’s Glasney Valley.
• A series of storms devastated the Cornish coastline and cut rail links into the county. Castle Beach Cafe, in Falmouth, was destroyed by heavy waves and a tree crashed down onto the roof of Maria and Richard Clarke’s house in Marlborough Road.
• Local police were warning of the dangers of brandishing replica firearms in public after two realistic looking BB guns were seized at a house in Penryn.
• Staff at the Ships and Castles leisure centre in Falmouth were on “heightened alert” after receiving reports that a man had attempted to video two young girls who were changing their clothes in a cubicle there.
•  Falmouth University was left isolated from the outside world for a short time when lightning struck the data centre at its Tremough campus.
• Digger driver Chris Jackson had a lucky escape when his machine almost toppled into the river at Penryn.

MARCH

• There were emotional scenes at a Falmouth Town Council meeting after members were told they would be able to control the spread of multi-occupancy properties across the town. The decision was a victory for campaigners who fought a three-year battle to implement an Article Four direction.
• Concerns were raised that plans to protect rare bird species which spend winters in Falmouth could prove to be a nail in the coffin for the port’s future development.
• Up to £16,000 worth of cars had to be written off after a vehicle ploughed into the forecourt of Autotrend – a secondhand dealership on the main Helston to Falmouth road.
• The Russian crew of the stricken Barbados-flagged cargo vessel Sea Breeze were looked after at Falmouth’s Flying Angel Centre, run by the local Missions to Seaman branch, after their vessel began taking in water off The Lizard.
• Falmouth was named as the fourth best place to live in Britain by The Sunday Times.
• Residents campaigning to have a field at Bosvale, in Falmouth, designated as a  village green were appealing for supporters to donate cash to a fighting fund.

APRIL

• It was once again free to wee in Falmouth as the town council took over control of the town’s public toilets and ripped out the charging mechanisms that has been installed by Cornwall Council at the two most used facilities.
•  Cornwall Council was increasing the financial help it provided to the poorest households in the county who were struggling to meet their council tax bills.
• Tomboy, a 20ft motor boat that was moored off Mylor Harbour. took less than an hour to sink in a huge “ball of fire.” There was nobody aboard.
•  Ellen Winser MBE, a former chairman of trustees at Falmouth’s maritime museum, was named as Cornwall’s new Vice Lord Lieutenant.
• In what was described by one parent as “a clear breach of confidentiality” a document that included data about pupils’ behaviour and special educational needs was accidentally sent to all students at Penryn College.
• A painting by Charles Napier Hemy was snapped up at auction for a fraction of its value by Falmouth Art Gallery thanks to benefactors who made a “substantial” donation.
• Jubilation greeted news that Cornish people would be granted minority status under EU rules.

MAY

• Falmouth’s veteran councillor, Geoffrey Evans, who had notched up 40 years service to the community, was the toast of the council chamber after he chaired his final meeting as mayor.
• Clare Churcher and Lisa Powell made history by becoming the first same-sex couple to marry in Falmouth.
•  Penryn’s twinning association celebrated its 40th anniversary with a visit by delegates from Audierne, the group’s twin town in Brittany, France.
•  Police were urging the owners of local shops, offices and factories to be extra vigilant following a spate of burglaries which saw 30 small businesses and clubs targeted by criminals in the previous six months.
•  Devon and Cornwall Police said it would be closing the enquiry desk at the Falmouth station as part of moves to save £12 million over the next four years.
•  A public exhibition of plans for a new, large  roundabout at Union Corner, in Falmouth, was attended by around 80 people who, in the main, came out in support of the plan.
• Cornwall Council announced it was to begin a three-year pay freeze for staff as it looked to save around £190 million over the next five years.

JUNE

• A royal  Navy minehunter destroyed a World War II mine that was dredged up by a fishing boat off the coast of Falmouth.
• A full 24-hour firefighter strike was held across Cornwall. The firefighters took the action in opposition to Government plans to go ahead with plans to change their pension conditions.
• Plans to build a stylish building resembling an ocean going liner on the site of the former Falmouth Beach Hotel were revealed.
• Just in time for the anniversary of D-Day, US soldiers who built part of Falmouth’s waterfront during World War II were recognised with a noticeboard recounting their deeds.
• Dustbin lid sized barrel jellyfish, normally seen in much deeper water, were washing up on the Cornish coast with more than one monster left high and dry on the River Fal shoreline.
• More than 25,000 visitors poured into Falmouth over the three days of the town’s annual sea shanty festival.
• Police were searching for vandals who caused thousands of pounds worth of damage by throwing paint stripper over cars parked in a Mylor Bridge cul-de-sac.
• Nearly 800 people applied for just 11 jobs being advertised at the new Pets at Home store at Ponsharden.

JULY

• Penryn man Rueben Jenkin risked his own life as he rushed to the rescue of his neighbour Susan Turner when her house on The Terrace was on fire. Rueben managed to pull Susan from an upstairs window.
• A liquid waste tanker driver, Anthony Martin, suffered back injuries when he risked his life to run his vehicle off the road at Herniss, near Penryn, after a car ahead of him stopped abruptly.
• Former pupils of Flushing School enjoyed a top class evening when they gathered from across the country for a reunion at the village’s Seven Stars pub.
• Falmouth’s KFC restaurant, which had previously earned a top national hygiene award, had to close when a flood left food debris from a bin room running into the kitchen.
• Production of Rowe’s pasties was halted because of a major fire at its Falmouth factory just days before the peak holiday season.
•  Only ten months after being placed in special measures by Ofsted inspectors, King Charles School, in Falmouth, was rated as a “good” school overall.

AUGUST

• Plans for a giant oyster sculpture on Falmouth’s waterfront that would open and close with the tide were given the go-ahead by Cornwall Council.
• Developers behind plans to build 154 new homes on land known as Poolfield, off Bickland Water Road, Falmouth, appealed against Cornwall Council’s refusal of the scheme.
• A World War I service bicycle was discovered by volunteers at Enys House, Mylor, after lying undisturbed in a locked outbuilding for almost 70 years.
• The people of Falmouth, Penryn and the surrounding villages  held various commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of Britain entering World War I.
• The newly expanded Constantine Museum was officially opened, giving access to the village’s plentiful archives.
•  A new wind turbine at the site of BF Adventure, at Halvasso, near Penryn, generated a great deal of interest with an open day attracting around 100 people.
•  Less than two months after rebranding, Falmouth Aquarium had to close its doors due to a lack of funding.
•  Falmouth councillors pledged support for a £30 million project to transform a part of the town’s seafront with the construction of an “iconic and spectacular” building shaped like an ocean-going liner.

SEPTEMBER

• Falmouth Town Council announced that it had bought the town’s former main post office building on The Moor to provide public meeting rooms and prevent it being turned into flats.
•  Falmouth Town Council agreed to pay £56,000 to replace a collapsing roof on public toilets at Gyllyngvase Beach.
• Members of Glasney Greenspace Regeneration Project in Penryn held their first ever fund day in the valley.
• A memorial stone that had been placed in Falmouth Cemetery to remember one of the town’s World War II St Nazaire raid heroes, Johnny Johnson, went missing.
• The 27th annual Martin Jennings Memorial Motorcycle Run attracted a record number of entries as more than 1,500 riders joined the charity fundraising convoy across the county.
• Pupils and staff at Mabe School were celebrating after reaching an impressive funding goal enabling solar panels to be fitted in time for the new school year.
•  Plucky neighbours Andy McGinn, 51, and Sid Barnes, 57, were hailed as heroes after they pulled 80-year-old housebound Erika Bennett from her burning home in Oakfield Road, Falmouth.

OCTOBER

• Travellers who set up caravans in Falmouth’s Quarry Car Park agreed to move on, after Cornwall Council ordered them to leave the site or face court proceedings.
• Falmouth’s MP, Sarah Newton, welcomed news that the UK’s first deep geothermal heat system, situated at Rosemanowes Quarry outside Penryn, was operational.
• Major Tony Hibbert MBC MC, a hero of World War II who fought at Dunkirk and Arnhem and persuaded a German admiral to surrender the Nazi fleet, died aged 96. Major Hibbert was also instumental in turning Trebah Gardens into one of the county’s most successful tourist attractions.
• Concerned local residents wrote to the Prime Minister pleading with him to stop two ships coming to Falmouth from the Ebola stricken country of Sierra Leone.
•  TV comedian Alan Davies spoke to students at Penryn’s university campus about the importance of voting in the next General Election.
• Falmouth police officers PC James Tompson and PC Barry Nicholas received Superintendent’s Certificates in recognition of their professionalism and commitment.
• Trebah Garden won a VisitEngland gold award.

NOVEMBER

• PLANS for a new single roundabout at Union Corner in Falmouth were back on track, and so in turn were Falmouth School’s sporting ambitions, following a meeting held to address councillors’ concerns.
• The RFA Argus arrived in Sierra Leone from Falmouth to offload vital equipment and stores that would be used in the fight against Ebola.
•  Julia Maxlow-Tomlinson, nee Wolferstan, a descendant of the family of Lady Mary Killigrew visited Penryn to see the silver Loving Cup presented to the town by Lady Jane Killigrew in the 17th Century.
• The crew of  Gypsum Centennial, a ship which arrived from the Ebola stricken country of Sierra Leone, were banned from leaving the vessel for 24 hours and were monitored by Public Health England staff.
• People gathered outside the restored Ponsanooth Village Stores almost 11 months after flooding forced it to close, to watch a ceremonial ribbon being cut and the first customer enter.
• Workers were arriving on site to begin converting the former Clipper Way pub, in Boslowick Road, Falmouth, into a Co-operative supermarket.
• On several occasions poo was found in the swimming pool at Falmouth’s Ships and Castles leisure complex.

DECEMBER

• Trago Mills in Falmouth was featured in the BBC’s Fake Britain television show after the store was found to be selling fake Head & Shoulders shampoo. The store was cleared of any wrongdoing.
• Huge numbers of dead seals were found stranded on Cornish beaches and wildlife experts admitted they were baffled by the situation.
• Penryn councillors decided that to provide feedback on potential new car parking charges to Cornwall Council would be premature, considering that they were hoping to negotiate an asset transfer.
• UKIP selected Dr John Hyslop, a consultant radiologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, as its prospective parliamentary candidate for Truro and Falmouth.
• Vandals and thieves went on a rampage in Penryn, attacking the town’s Christmas trees. A 6ft tree was stolen from outside MJ Hair and a 7ft tree set up in the Memorial Gardens was pulled down.
• Representatives from Cory Environmental were thanked by Falmouth mayor John Body and his wife Linda for all their hard work keeping the town clean throughout 2014.
• A patient was placed in isolation and underwent tests for the Ebola virus at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.