Cornwall Council have approved development of 24% of the Marsh Lane Cornwall Wildlife site, for an out of town shopping centre on the outskirts of Hayle PA16/03519 - to add to the existing West Cornwall Retail Park and the development at the Rugby Club which has not even been built yet. The enormous 8,000 sq m (over 80,000 sq ft) development developer Cranford suggests that the predicted distribution of floorspace across different lines is likely to be:- DIY Retailers 25% : Furniture & Furnishings Retailers 55% : Electrical Retailers 20%.

Marsh Lane Cornwall Wildlife site is a rare freshwater marsh and a county wildlife site, situated in the flood plain of the Angarrack Stream (which has been identified by the Environment Agency as a Rapid Response catchment area with the same risk factor as Boscastle but with nearly three times as many properties at risk - most of them in Hayle. Part of the site also flooded as recently as April 2016.

Despite the sensitivity of this site Cornwall Council has not required the developer to submit an EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment - https://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/environmental_impact_asses1.pdf

Cornwall Council is required to provide protection to County Wildlife sites in its Local Plan - which it has done, but the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) decided to give no weight to the emerging Cornwall Local plan or the emerging Hayle Neighbourhood Plan when deciding to grant planning permission.  We think that is wrong.  Interestingly - so do Cornwall Council in their own Briefing note - https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/19695024/guide-note-examples-of-emerging-neighbourhood-plans-influencing-planning-applications.pdf and the Government are currently passing a bill to stop councils from ignoring emerging local plans

Cornwall Council have given this site less protection than another greenfield site and we think that's wrong too. There are other areas around Hayle and in the wider West Cornwall area which are specifically designed for this type of development - the Hayle Neighbourhood plan identifies some and both the Cornwall Local Plan and the Hayle Local Plan identify Loggans Mill and other areas for development.  In the wider area there are other designated development locations - such as the areas opened up by the Camborne, Pool and Redruth link road - areas which according to the Cornwall Local Plan are a priority for development.

Hayle Neighbourhood Plan has been out to public consultation twice, has been inspected been presented to Hayle Town Council and received their complete support on 16th June 2016 and is currently being readied for a final referendum before adoption.  Cornwall Local Plan has delegated the designation of development space to the Hayle Neighbourhood Plan - details for the area are in Map 21 of the Hayle Neighbourhood Plan - the protections for the County Widllife site and the linked environmental corridors received over 88% support.

County Wildlife - East Hayle and Angarrack [extract Map 21] | Hayle Neighbourhood Plan, by Hayle Neighbourhood Plan

In contrast the development attracted 89 Comments with 88 Objections and only one supporting comment - see http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=O5U19FFG1MQ00

Hayle Town Council voted to support their Neighbourhood Plan and to Strongly Object to this scheme in light of the emerging Neighbourhood Plan and other important considerations - you can read their original comments here http://www.hayletowncouncil.net/documents/16June2016AppA.pdf

PA16/03519 comments 16June2016 AppA | Hayle Town Council, by Hayle Town Council

The day after Cornwall Council's SPC ruled the Local Plan and Hayle Neighbourhood Plan had no weight Cornwall Council proudly annouced their Local PLan had been approved by the Government's inspector http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/planning/planning-policy/cornwall-local-plan/cornwall-local-plan-strategic-policies/schedule-of-further-significant-changes/

This particular proposed development had next to no local support, is far larger than the designated development area in the Hayle Neighbourhood Plan and flies in the face of the 'protections' on County Wildlife sites as well as being a development in the Flood plain. Many were also reassured that the Hayle Neighbourhood plan had considered- in light of the huge additional development about to be built at the Rugby Club more than doubling the size of the existing West Cornwall Retail Park - the cumulative impact on Hayle's two small town centres of out of town destination shopping.

The reports say this development will have little impact on Hayle and that people will travel by public transport and make linked trips - with Wickes setting up in direct competition to Jewsons, The Jolly Bodger and many small businesses on the Guildford Road industrial estate.  There's to be a Pet Superstore directly threatening the Big Pink Tree as well as Dunelm competing with many small businesses at both ends of Hayle.  DFS are to compete with Julian Foyes and Iroko etc. And who will buy a kitchen or building supplies and take them home on a linked trip by bus?  This is not sustainable development. 

Many already have experienced traffic tailing back trying to get into the existing shopping centre - Cornwall Council's traffic experts say that Marsh Lane can accommodate the planned five times increase - the same Cornwall traffic experts responsible for igoring the massive public warnings about the Truro Bus Lane and the Lelant traffic scheme (now on its third variation).  If Marsh Lane cannot cope with the traffic it will tail back and block the A30 affecting potentially the whole of West Cornwall as well as the ability of the Hayle Tristation to be responsive.  to make matters worse the developer intends a crossing to line up with Marks and Spencers and is intending to promote a footway and crossing to massively increase pedestrian traffic across the road - effectively shortening the length of road available for the traffic to queue.

Estimates say this will be the third biggest shopping centre in Cornwall and the second largest out of town shopping centre after Threemilstone.  Outside tiny Hayle with its two small town centres, approached from both directions by three lane A30 not even proper dual carriageways and where we have all seen the traffic chaos this summer.

Another significant issue for many downstream of the proposed development in Hayle is that the original applications on this site were rejected by the Environment Agency as being a development in the flood plain - the Environment Agency now say the land has been reclassified.  Many find this most concerning particularly in light of the flooding of parts of the site as recently as April and the recent requirements to upgrade the risks due to climate change, sea level rise and advice from the Met Office for 30% risk increases.

The Government has set out rules for sustainable developments and this development does not follow them.

The Government has set out rules allowing local people to have a say in their local developments - called localism - and Neighbourhood Plans are a key way of ensuring local people can affect what happens around them.  We think that Cornwall Council should not be allowed to ignore their Local and Neighbourhood Plans or the local people.

IllustrativeMasterplan Figure 9, by Cranford