A controversial planning application for a pond already created without permission could lead to “disaster” and have “disastrous consequences”, a planning committee has heard. The development and subsequent application oppose thousands of people,
Art dealer Barnes Thomas, who starred in Bear Grylls’ show The Island, applied to preserve an 80m by 30m pond he built on his land. He said he didn’t realize he needed planning permission. However, residents living in the Cote Valley, near St Just in west Cornwall, have started a petition to protect the landscape and remove the lake. It has been signed by over 4,500 people.
The proposal came before Cornwall Council’s west area planning committee today (Tuesday 28 May). Key issues, as outlined by planning officer Diane Boardman, were the visual impact of the lake in relation to the national landscape (previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), the risk of flooding and the impact on bird strike hazards at nearby Land’s End Airport .
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However, she said the application was supported by sufficient flood risk information while the Environment Agency did not object, subject to certain conditions.
Land’s End Airport objected, but Ms Boardman said the application was supported by a bird strike management plan. Cornwall’s National Landscape Team also objected as the pond – which has been described as closer to a lake by some – partially fills part of the valley. “However, given the scale of the development in terms of visual impact, the planning department does not consider it to be significant, so its impact does not warrant refusal,” the planning officer added.
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Chris Pearson, airport manager and senior air traffic control officer at Land’s End, described as the “critical link” to the Isles of Scilly, told councilors the lake was adjacent to the centreline of the main runway. He said the airport had instructed Mr Thomas to carry out a bird strike hazard assessment.
“This was carried out but not shared with the airport. Reading the report one wonders if it has not been shared as it is rightly quite damning of the proposal due to the safety of aircraft,” Mr Pearson said. It showed there was a risk of danger from waterfowl species attracted to the lake, such as Canada geese and herons, and it was in a critical part of the airspace – the final approach to the runway, where planes fly low.
Mr Pearson added: “While the mitigations mentioned in the report may help manage the increased risk, they will not reverse them and the increased risk remains.” He said unlike other lakes and ponds in the area, the lake is directly below the flight path of the aircraft heading for the runway.
He said having such a body of water near a main runway at a commercial airport was “not sensible”. “No other airport would or should support such a proposal. Surely the primary task of all countries is to ensure the continued safety of the public above all other matters? I therefore request that permission be refused.’
St Just-in-Penwith town councilor Martin Cavell said he was there to remind the committee of the concerns of the local council and residents about the “new lake”.
“One of the biggest concerns is the ecology of the surrounding area and in particular the stream that feeds the lake and into which it empties. The applicant has commissioned its own environmental report, but there is no report or study on the effects on the surrounding area.
“However, its commissioned report acknowledges likely effects on streamflow from water extraction and sediment disposal from the lake. The National Trust was not consulted, but as a significant stakeholder they felt it necessary to make a public comment about their concerns and objections to the lake. They say “we are not currently convinced that this development is appropriate and provides the necessary environmental mitigation and improvements.”
Of the airport’s concerns, he said the conscience of St Just councilors would not allow them to support an application that “could one day contribute to disaster”.
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Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Chris Tofts, head of the planning team at solicitors Stephens Scown, said the pond was created to provide an area for wildlife and water for livestock. He said it was currently empty and had been for some time following a request to implement the plan (although the planning officer later said there was no request to empty the lake).
He said Mr Thomas had taken the airport’s concerns seriously and carried out a bird strike risk assessment. Mitigation included dense vegetation or fencing around the lake and no islands on the lake, which was suggested as a condition by the planning officer. Mr Tofts said the airport did not dispute the assessment’s findings or recommendations and that the company which carried out the assessment was recommended by the airport operator. “The report does not say there will be a net increase in risk with the proposed mitigation.”
He added that an environmental report had been prepared by the commercial arm of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, which found that the pond was created on land that was previously of low ecological value, concluding that it was a valuable addition to the surrounding biodiversity.
Cllr Loveday Jenkin asked what the wildlife and farming benefits were of the pond, which has a platform, stone pillars, an entrance and a path leading to it. Mr. Tofts replied that they were there to look attractive.
The committee’s deputy chairman Cllr Guy Foreman pointed out that one of the mitigation measures was to fence off the pond, but asked if that happened how the cattle would drink from it – one of the reasons cited for its creation. Mr Tofts said the management plan would allow cattle in but not geese.
Cllr Foreman, who has an aviation background, said an airport representative would not take the meeting lightly and believed such a body of water near the main runway was “bottomless”. Cllr Loic Rich said he was happy with the bird risk plan and claimed all airports have ponds around them, including Heathrow, “the biggest airport in the country, if not the world”.
Cllr John Keeling, who also worked in the aviation industry, said he had seen the damage caused by bird strikes, adding that the reasons for the lake were “pretty flimsy… why create unnecessary danger?”
Cllr Jenkin said: “I see no reason to support this proposal at all. It was done without any permission. We are talking about something that creates a hazard in an area where that hazard can have catastrophic consequences. The impact on the landscape is not in keeping with the character of the area – the Cot Valley is a small valley with lots of vegetation, not a deep lake. The structures around it are not suitable for the open landscape.”
The retrospective application was rejected on the grounds that it was an “inappropriate and obvious addition to the landscape”, with nine councilors voting in favor and one against.