Mish Mash
We are writing this from all the Mish Mashers. Our names are Brendon and Becky. On the 4th December we held a community feast (thank you to the Healthy Living people for giving us the money to do this). We got the food ready and made banana, melon, strawberry and raspberry smoothies in our new smoothie maker. We welcomed people at the door with fruit warm punch.
We had written letters to people to ask them to come and Candy Atherton came, the police workers, and the vicar, and Mr Whetter as well as lots of others people from the council and our families. We liked having letters from people to say if they were coming as the letters came to the school.
We had Jason come and do African drumming and Mike to do juggling with us, the grown ups joined in and this was funny and fun! Mike did juggling over our heads while we lay on the floor but not the grown ups. We showed everyone what we had made and brought such as our new books and puppets and the felt and silk we had made. We played Christmas music and made craft and ate the feast.
We really like Mish Mash because it gives us something to do on weekends and also we like running it and choosing what to buy and do. Some of us went shopping for the food for the feast and we all chose two things we wanted to have at the feast. We like to run around and play with bats, balls and hoops as well as talk and do new stuff.
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The Old Harbour Masters House on Harbour Terrace: A success story – so far!
As many people will be aware, a planning application was received by Kerrier District Council Planning Services to renovate and considerably extend this historic building at the beginning of October. The proposals would have transformed the present 3 bed 2 bath house into 6 bed /3 bath accommodation by adding another story to the rear and opening up and enlarging the roof space thus completely changing its profile from all aspects. In addition the classic view of Gull Rock along Harbour Terrace would have been lost to all.
Local residents in Harbour Terrace, Kingsley Terrace and Lighthouse Hill decided to oppose the application as it stood whilst supporting appropriate renovation of the building. They went in force to the Parish Council meeting where it was being considered and presented their various views. The Parish Council decided to oppose it. They were also able to enlist the help of Portreath’s County Councilor, Terry Rowe, and the District Councilor who represents Portreath’s interests on Kerrier Planning Committee, Tommy Bray.
I think the most powerful argument was the historic nature of the house and its environs. The harbour, the Harbour Masters House and the Harbour Terrace properties are closely related and date back to the 18th century and earlier. They are the last group of related 18th century historic structures to survive in Portreath. The Harbour is a grade 2 listed structure and the Harbour Master’s House lies within its curtilage. They both lie within the proposed World Heritage Site area. So the World Heritage Site team at the Department of Historic Environment at Cornwall County Council were very interested in this application. Redruth Old Cornwall Society and many others were also alerted and many letters opposing the application were sent in.
We also decided to get up a petition and copies were posted in Costcutter, The Portreath Arms, The Waterfront Inn and The Basset Arms. We also went door to door and hung about on the harbour to solicit signatures. Michael Tangye did sterling work collecting signatures from Redruth Old Cornwall Society and other local organisations helped out too. Drawings of befores and afters were made so that everyone could easily see what the changes would be. Initially the petition was circulating for three weeks but this was extended for another month when we were informed that it would go before the December Planning Committee meeting, not November.
The results were really encouraging as well as very interesting. Out of a total of 272 signatures 141 were Portreath and Bridge residents, a further 108 were local to the area (Camborne-Redruth etc) and 23 were from elsewhere in Cornwall or upcountry. A good number of signatures were collected in Costcutter and an unknown number in the Basset Arms – the petition fell down the back of a large and heavy fridge never to be seen again. A new petition was started but from all accounts fell far short of the first one. As to The Waterfront and the Portreath Arms, not one signature was collected. Residents from every street, road and close in Portreath signed the petition.
Our concerns were heard. The applicant withdrew his application on learning of the strong opposition, which now included Kerrier District Council. The application never went to Committee. However the applicant will resubmit with more appropriate proposals, and soon probably. Then the whole process will begin all over again.
I feel very heartened that so many Portreath residents care enough about their historic village to put pen to paper. I am grateful that they have not let disappointment or bitterness from past failures to protect our historic buildings make them feel hopeless. I know some do. However I am not so naïve as to think that the story is now over for who knows what the next application will be like?
By Rose Lewis
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LOCALS ONLY' AGAIN?
As we already pay the highest water rates in the country, and they are going up again because we have to clean up the beaches, perhaps certain surfers at Portreath had the right idea, after all, with their "locals only" slogan. If we are the only ones who have to pay for it, then perhaps we should be the only ones to be able to use the facilities.
HEATHER NETTLE
Illogan
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Dear Parish Tram
What a fantastic night our beach bonfire turned out to be. It was the best firework display yet, enjoyed from my favourite position standing between fire and sea, trying to avoid the incoming tide and cowering from the loudest explosions rebounding from the cliff! All of my party were very impressed, thought it must have cost a tidy sum and hoped enough money would be collected to cover costs – and donated freely when we could find a bucket to put our money in.
Later I made a point of finding out if all the costs had been covered and in the process discovered what this lovely village event entails. I think everyone should be aware of this so that they can have some idea of what a reasonable donation is and so ensure that it continues into the future.
Briefly the number of spectators varies between 1500 and 2000. Bonfire insurance for that number costs £200 of which £100 came from Portreath Improvements Committee and £100 from local businesses. A firework company was hired to provide the firework display and they had their own insurance for that. They charged £1500. Free park and ride was put on from The Gold Centre. A team of local volunteers collected, made and tended the bonfire and more volunteers collected the donations.
So donations need to add up to the cost of the firework company, which was £1500, divide that by 1500, being the lowest estimate of people attending, and you get £1 per person. Lets assume that half of those attending are kids under 16 and should be able to pay less than an adult. Then adults at £1.50 and kids at 0.75p would cover it. A family of four would then donate £4.50. Make it a round fiver and the firework fund might even carry over for the next year. Pretty good value for a real fun night out!
This year, even after The Parish Tram asked people to be generous for the above reasons, there was a shortfall of £75. It was a fine night and we can assume that there were nearer 2000 than 1500 spectators. So where were all the generous donations? It wouldn’t matter so much if an organisation with financial reserves was behind this, but that is not the case. It is an individual. So any shortfall is born by one person. If we want the beach bonfire and fireworks display to continue into the future we all need to be a bit more realistic and a lot more generous.
Rose Lewis
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I am a local girl (Portreath) who is currently in the third year of veterinary training at Liverpool University. During the Christmas break I worked at the Cornwall Animal Hospital at Treleigh, Redruth. This is a good local service that many people do not know about. I was very impressed with the quality of care and the ethics of the hospital. The hospital is a charity and relies upon donations as well as private patients to support the work that it does. They are often given animals to re-home and currently they have several cats, two dogs and a gerbil. If you can offer any of the animals a home or would like to know more about the work of the hospital, please contact the hospital on 01209 313214. Please also remember that they are always happy to care for private animal patients and this really does go a long way in supporting the wider work of the hospital. Consultations are by appointment only and the hospital is open Monday to Friday 9 am until 1 pm and 3-6pm. Saturday the hospital opens 9 am until noon and there is a 24-hour emergency cover provided.
Jo Reynard
