Theatre and Padstow's Lobster Hatchery bid for Porthleven

The ambitious scheme has been revealed by Trevor Osborne this evening as he unveiled designs for the complete transformation of the shipyard, opposite the Harbour Head.

The existing shipyard tenants are being relocated to new buildings currently under construction at Tolponds, where Origin Coffee will also be moving its headquarters to from Helston.

With the shipyard empty from around October, Mr Osborne said he wanted to boost the Porthleven economy by building on what was already being provided by Porthleven’s large number of artists, jewellery makers and creative people.

Mr Osborne, who bought the harbour 41 years ago, told the Packet: “I'm hoping people will realise I'm not just taking advantage of my good fortune to own the Harbour and Dock Company, I'm also respecting the need for Porthleven to benefit from the fact it's been in single ownership for so long.

Outside the National Lobster Hatchery building, with the GP surgery in the background

"It's not just for visitors - it's for the community. Visitors help the community, so the community has got to help the visitors.

“The most obvious form of development and most viable would be if we were to build flats, but that doesn’t appeal to me.

“I’m concerned to see Porthleven’s local economy and its community works to its strengths.”

The first of the projects he hopes to get underway is the transformation of the existing metal works building into a performance venue, which he plans to also be the new home of Porthleven Town Band.

This would have a capacity for 200 people, with retractable seating for performances in theatre, music and dance, and clearing to accommodate art exhibitions.

There would also be a recording studio and a fully working cinema installed, with Mr Osborne’s ambition being to introduce Saturday morning cinema for children in the area.

A spokesperson for the band said: "While some discussions are ongoing nothing has been agreed or arranged. This decision is solely the responsibility of the board of trustees and if there is any news then our members will know first and then it will be announced publicly."

A computer image of how the new buildings would be viewed from Fishermen's Quay

He has also be working closely with the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, which is looking to open a second venue on the south coast and develop its environmental programme, introducing 20,000 baby lobsters into the sea off Porthleven each year.

The new building - the design of which mirrors the Innovation Building, for which works will get underway on the shipyard in September - would include a lobster restaurant and a visitors’ centre where people could learn about marine ecology, working closely with local schools.

Chief operating officer charity, David Lockyer, said: "We're very excited about this opportunity to further develop our education, conservation and research work.

"We have always been very opening to new possibilities, so when an opportunity like this comes along it's absolutely ideal."

The final proposed addition to the site is a new GP surgery for Porthleven, which Mr Osborne envisages as having a larger patient capacity than at present. Above it would be four flats.

"The present doctors' surgery is really not fit for purpose," said Mr Osborne.

However, Alison Butterill, practice manager for Helston Medical Centre and Porthleven Surgery, stressed that while an initial discussion had taken place, the proposal was still in the very early stages.

She  said: “We have had some initial discussions with the Harbour and Dock Company but it is still very early days. 

"A formal process, which will involve NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS England and Improvement and, of course, talking and asking the views of the people who use our surgery to make sure any move is of benefit to the service and the care they receive, will be required to inform any agreement to move to a new site.”

Aerial drawings of the site

The plans indicate 34 car parking spaces on site, including doctor parking and space for ambulances, with a further 50 spaces at the nearby net-drying area that is currently used for parking.

Mr Osborne said the site at Tolponds would have an additional 120 spaces and in the summer there would be a transfer bus service between the two sites, along with a bicycle hire scheme.

He plans to plant many trees around the site and is investigating links with Cornwall Council's Forest for Cornwall project.

He said there would still be room for some boat storage during the winter and that the car park at Tolponds would also be available.

Mr Osborne said after this he has one more scheme in the pipeline, for the corner of Commercial Road, which he hopes to unveil later this year.

A plan of where the buildings would go