The people working to get Ships and Castles re-opened have given an update on the latest state of play following a meeting with Falmouth Town Council behind closed doors.

This week contractors moved onto the site to board up the leisure centre on Pendennis headland with metal sheets.

Falmouth Packet:

In May, Pendennis Leisure CIC hosted a community meeting that brought together over 150 citizens and organisations from Falmouth and surrounding areas. The community discussed and agreed two priorities for the company:

  • To reopen Ships & Castles as a public swim leisure facility, as soon as practicable.
  • To create a purpose built ‘21st century’ swim facility for Penryn, Falmouth and surrounding areas, within ten years.

Falmouth Packet:

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Since May’s community meeting the company has been working with Falmouth Town Council to progress these two distinct goals. Following the private meeting Falmouth Town Council's finance and general purpose committee last night, Pendennis Leisure spokesman Matthew Thomson gave the Packet an update on the latest situation.

"Falmouth town councillors, Falmouth’s Cornwall councillors and our local MP Cherilyn Mackrory have all expressed support for our short term, but challenging goal, to re-open Ships & Castles as soon as possible," he said. "But they do need assurances that they will not be left with a liability if they go ahead with the devolution and for any reason we fail in reopening the leisure centre.

Falmouth Packet:

"Pendennis Leisure CIC is focused on providing the assurances Falmouth Town Council need so that they may proceed with the devolution of the Ships & Castles site that Cornwall Council offered them in April.

"Falmouth Town Council has commissioned an independent expert review of our plan to re-open Ships & Castles and we have also been working on ‘back-up’ plans to either repurpose or even to demolish the leisure centre and keep the site as a ‘country park’ for community benefit."

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Mr Thomson said all these alternative scenarios would need finance and they were researching and bidding for grant funding to help towards raising the one million pounds needed to re-open and operate the site over the next five years.

"The main target funds are the Government’s Community Ownership Fund and the forthcoming Shared Prosperity Fund," said Mr Thomson. "We plan to run a crowd funder in the autumn once we have a clearer idea about those larger grants."

The options Cornwall Council gave Falmouth Town Council in April were:

  • Cornwall Council maintains ownership of the land and building and decides the future in regard to sale and development
  • Full devolution of the Pendennis Headland, including Ships & Castles site, surrounding land and car park.
  • Disposal of part of the site. The Ships & Castles building and some or all of the car park would be sold.

Pendennis Leisure CIC says it is of the firm belief that full devolution of the headland and Ships & Castles is best for the people of Falmouth and surrounding areas