The St Ivean

Empty homes in Penwith

2008-11-23T09:24:00.005Z

Penwith has 462 empty homes, according to statistics (2007) from the Empty Homes Agency. Properties owned by private landlords account for 409 and the rest are owned by housing associations. 239 have been empty for more than six months.

The agency says that Cornwall has a total of 6280 empty homes. ...more>

BNP near me?

2008-11-21T13:14:00.002Z

BNP near me?

Hitler's BNP membership leaked

BNP Members: the far right map of Britain

2008-11-19T19:59:00.000Z

BNP Members: interactive map

BNP in Cornwall

2008-11-19T11:55:00.006Z

According to the BNP's membership list, the party has 41 members in Cornwall - in North Cornwall and in Truro, Camborne/Redruth, Hayle, Penzance, Marazion and Falmouth...

Police officers among BNP members listed on web

Searchlight

Dogs on beaches 8

2008-11-17T18:51:00.002Z

Out of season the beaches in St Ives are becoming canine latrines. But why should dog owners bother finding a more suitable place when there's the whole of Porthmeor available? Perhaps Penwith should erect notices reserving the use of the beaches for dogs and their owners, allowing the rest of us access only at certain times of day.

Island path needs attention

2008-11-17T18:39:00.002Z

The footpath at the back of the Island needs urgent attention. After rain, several sections flood and become impassable because of rainwater or mud. So people climb onto the sides - quite risky on the seaward side -wearing them down and thus extending the area of mud. The other day I saw an elderly woman standing on the flooded path ankle deep in water and looking lost.

'Beautiful' town hailed in New York newspaper

2008-09-17T10:43:00.002+01:00

TIMES are unquestionably hard and almost every day, the financial markets bring us further gloomy news.

So it's good to hear that our transatlantic cousins rate the far west of Cornwall and St Ives in particular as the 'UK's last great bargain'.

Writing in the New York Post, Alex Robertson Textor says American visitors to London 'have collected many a horror story'.

"It is perversely therapeutic to catalogue the outrageous prices for things: $50 for breakfast, $250 for a grubby shoebox of a hotel room and $8 for a single ride on the Tube," he writes.

But Cornwall is a 'must-visit' which remains relatively affordable for Americans and St Ives is in 'the first tier of beautiful Cornish seaside towns, an art colony turned beach town whose narrow streets throng with tourists'... more>

The Big Question: Is there really a Cornish culture, and does it deserve promotion?

2008-09-16T11:39:00.003+01:00

Why are we asking this now?

Because Cornwall, the home of surfing, pasties and Rick Stein, has been awarded £350,000 of European Union money to help finance its bid to put itself on the cultural map. Britain's most southerly county has campaigned for almost five years for a Europe-wide scheme to celebrate culture in the continent's often neglected rural areas.

"Rural regions account for about 80 per cent of Europe's landmass and 25 per cent of its population," says Miranda Bird, director of European Regions of Culture Campaign Organisation (EROCCO), which hopes Cornwall will become one of the first Regions of Culture, "yet when you talk to people outside Cornwall, they only think of beaches, pasties and ice cream."

What is the case for regarding Cornwall as a region of culture? ...more>

All fired-up in St Ives

2008-09-14T10:27:00.003+01:00

'It has been a sign-writing workshop, a knitting factory, all sorts of things. And now it’s going to be a working pottery once more.” Jack Doherty leans over the wet, mushroom-pale pot he has been working on, holding a razor blade in one clay-covered hand, and with a deft movement makes an incision, like the barb on a strand of wire. The mild-mannered pot suddenly looks disquietingly edgy.
Doherty is the lead potter at the newly-restored Leach Pottery in St Ives, set on a sliver of land between the rushing Stennack River and the road down into town. It was set up in 1920 by Bernard Leach, one of the great potters of the 20th century, with the Japanese potter Shoji Hamada (who stayed for three years). Their ideas came as a shock to a Britain used to porcelain from Stoke-on-Trent: Leach pottery was sturdy and sensuous, using powerful, sombre glazes. The new museum shows a dark dish with a mysterious figure walking towards peaks of dripping glaze; a blue-and-grey quartered bottle decorated with red characters; a simple bowl with a single line around the inner rim... more>

How Mark Rothko became an Anglophile

2008-09-06T10:02:00.002+01:00

Even as he won over his fellow New Yorkers, Mark Rothko remained the angry outsider. Yet he fell for the people and town of St Ives – and the feeling was mutual. As a new Tate show opens, our critic profiles a tormented genius... more>

Hawk solution for seagull problem

2008-09-06T09:59:00.003+01:00

Hawks could be brought in to scare gulls away from the harbour area of a Cornish resort.
Holidaymakers have complained to officials about being dive-bombed by gulls trying to grab food.
Now, St Ives Town Council is considering bringing back hawks after the idea had some success during a trial in April last year... more>

165 children employed illegally

2008-08-28T13:39:00.001+01:00

DOZENS of children have been employed illegally in Cornwall and Devon, according to a campaign to crack down on illegal child employment.

Inquiries by juvenile employment officers and education welfare officers found 20 children being employed illegally in Cornwall and 145 in Devon.

The discoveries were made after two officers made 120 visits to employers in Cornwall during July and August and 26 officers made 625 visits to employers in Devon... more>

Roger Hilton at Kettle's Yard

2008-08-27T20:35:00.004+01:00

"Who is this Roger Hilton?" asked NY Arts magazine in 1953. Today you could be forgiven for asking the same question. If Roger Hilton (1911-1975) had been born on the other side of the Atlantic and been active there during the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, he would enjoy the same renown as Pollock, De Kooning, Rothko and co. But in post-war Britain, when US artists were influencing most of his peers, the non-conformist Hilton looked no further than the European tradition.

This he was able to convert into what he termed "a new sort of figuration; one which is more true". Lesser known than other members of the St Ives clan, including Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Patrick Heron, Hilton is the unsung hero of the abstract art to emerge from Cornwall in the 1950s and 1960s...more>

Dig deep: Cornwall mines its past for the future

2008-08-24T09:11:00.002+01:00

...The starting-off point also provides a slice of art history. Botallack was the home of British abstract artist Roger Hilton until his death in 1975. His wife, Rose, herself a fine painter whose first solo retrospective showed recently at Tate St Ives, still lives in the couple's granite cottage. Luminaries of the St Ives art scene would congregate at the Hilton house.

It is easy to see what attracted so many artists to Botallack. The engine houses of its mines – "wrought under the sea beyond the memory of any person now living," as once described by the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall – cling precariously to cliffs against which the Atlantic surges with relentless power... more>

The biscuit-tin modernist

2008-08-24T09:06:00.002+01:00

Ben Nicholson, master of the right angle and perfect circle, has had an irregular reputation in his native Britain. Before the war, he was thought outrageous, with his paintings of nothing and his white wood reliefs so avant-garde they were practically foreign. Then we won the war and Nicholson became a national treasure. When Modernism faded, we preferred his Cornish landscapes, clean, bright and picturesque - the very spirit of St Ives. But now that St Ives itself is oversold, we have returned to those circles... more>

Portmeor artists' studios: crumbling beauty

2008-08-23T09:16:00.002+01:00

Porthmeor artists' studios in St Ives is the oldest such complex in Britain. It is also in an advanced state of decay and in urgent need of funding. Emma Thomas meets the artists and fishermen who work in its unique atmosphere

Weather-beaten and worn, Porthmeor artists' studios has stood in the Cornish town of St Ives for more than 150 years, stubbornly clinging on to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. In stark contrast to the modern Tate gallery nearby, the building possesses a crumbling beauty that is superficially alluring. The oldest studio complex in the country - internationally influential artists have worked here - its history is ingrained in the distressed and faded patina of every wall panel and floorboard. The light here is extraordinary. Infinite. Even on a dull day, mesmerising. One artist occupant said, 'You can't do rubbish paintings here. Your work has to match this amazing place.' more>

A three-year love letter to St Ives

2008-08-08T08:33:00.001+01:00

David Pearce's film Footprints means so much to him that it is almost painful to listen to his story. You desperately want it to succeed, so that he can recoup his £200,000 investment in the film and feel vindicated for the three years he has spent working on it... more>

Uproar at housing meeting

2008-08-07T09:29:00.001+01:00

PENZANCE families are afraid to let their children out to play after 11 houses for people with drug and alcohol problems were opened across town without public consultation.

Hundreds of angry residents attacked the district council scheme, raising this point and others, at a special meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Cornishman's request for a list of addresses to be made public was refused. A council spokesperson said it is being addressed under the Freedom of Information Act.

The special town council meeting was held to answer questions about the shared housing scheme, run by Penwith District Council and Providers of Accommodation and Support, (PAS).

PAS works with the council's housing team to run shared houses for single, homeless people, with the aim of helping vulnerable individuals back into independent living. The properties are leased to the council by Charles Terrence Estates, (CTE).

There are 11 houses in Penzance within the PAS scheme, which homes people who can prove a local connection, and who are free of drugs and dry of alcohol. Nine properties are shared houses and two have self-contained flats.

A total of 25 houses have been found, but the remaining 14 are used for families or are sub-let.

Enraged audience members continually interrupted the panel of council officers, PAS representatives and police.

Council officers and support workers defended the scheme, although they admitted there are problems. They said they were going to work to improve things... more>

Solution to affordable homes - stop building

2008-08-05T09:39:00.001+01:00

THE only way to tackle the shortage of affordable housing in the Westcountry is to stop all new developments, a Cornish MP has claimed.

Andrew George has launched a campaign calling on the Government to abandon its plans to build thousands more homes in the region and instead concentrate on buying up existing homes for the least well-off.

Ministers insist the number of houses across Devon and Cornwall has got to be increased to help more people on to the property ladder... more>

Zennor prepares to resist TETRA mast plan

2008-08-04T16:30:00.003+01:00

VILLAGERS are preparing to repel a second attempt to erect a TETRA communications mast in Zennor after developers formally applied for planning permission.

The proposed site, north of Higher Kerrow Farm, is 160 metres east of the location of the original application, which was turned down by planners nearly three years ago.

Airwave Solutions – which provides the controversial masts which transmit secure police and emergency service communications – want to build a 10-metre-high 'monopole' which it plans to disguise as a telegraph pole.

Chairman of the parish council Mike Hindley says villagers just don't want a mast to spoil their beautiful countryside.

“The police say we have to have it because they are contracted to cover around 90% of all A and B roads, but the locals just don't want it,” he said.

“It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and we don't care that we will not be covered quite as well as the rest of the country.

“The company says it will disguise the mast as a telegraph pole but the parish council is in the process of trying to get the existing poles removed at the moment.”

The shock arrival of a temporary mast in 2004 sparked a mass protest by villagers and farmers, who used cars and tractors to block access to the site on a verge opposite the Gurnard's Head Hotel.

Planners unanimously rejected the subsequent planning application because the site was in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the Heritage Coast and in an Area of Great Historic Value.

Head of planning at Penwith District Council Andy England said the body had received five letters of objection to the full application which is expected to be decided at a meeting on August 26.

Mr Hindley said details of a parish meeting to discuss the issue would be announced in the next few days.

this is Cornwall

Second homes exodus

2008-08-03T10:14:00.002+01:00

A WAVE of second-home owners hit by the economic downturn are selling up, providing an unexpected boost for the Westcountry's property market.

Estate agents in picturesque or rural parts of Devon and Cornwall say many second-home owners are choosing to sell up rather than pay the rising monthly bills for two properties at once.

This is releasing homes for new buyers moving into the area and for local people struggling to find a permanent home in the region... more>

Water industry free to pollute beaches

2008-08-03T10:09:00.003+01:00

As you drive along the B3301 in north Cornwall, you come across the rocks and golden sands of Godrevy, overlooking St Ives Bay. It is among the finest beaches in Britain but on some days there is an unmistakable odour: sewage.

“You can smell it sometimes when you cross the Red River, which flows onto the beach,” said Richard Hardy, campaign director of Surfers Against Sewage. “Families sometimes play in the water without realising there is a serious risk of getting ill.” ...more>

Edward Hain Hospital closed by water main burst

2008-08-02T09:20:00.002+01:00

A COTTAGE hospital in West Cornwall has been forced to close temporarily after a water main burst.

Water was found to be flooding through the ceiling of the Edward Hain Hospital in St Ives on Thursday night.

Firefighters carried a dozen elderly patients from the building after the electrics were damaged. The patients have now been transferred to the community hospitals at Helston and Camborne/Redruth.

However, Cornwall Primary Care Trust, which runs the hospital and its minor injuries unit in the popular resort, says the incident has forced its closure for the time being.

The cause of the flood will now be investigated and a deep-cleaning operation undertaken before the small cottage hospital is reopened.

Linda Day, hospital manager at the PCT, said Edward Hain would reopen “at the earliest opportunity”.

“The hospital has been closed temporarily while the cause of the burst pipe is fully investigated, repaired and a clean-up operation commences. This will also involve a thorough deep- clean of the hospital.”

While the hospital is closed, patients who require treatment for minor injuries will be redirected to hospitals at Helston, Camborne/Redruth or Truro.

this is Cornwall

Bargain hunters pounce on holiday homes as owners feel pinch

2008-08-01T09:28:00.002+01:00

Scores of second-home owners hit by the economic downturn have decided to sell up, bringing an unexpected vibrancy to the property market in the country's favourite beauty spots.

Estate agents operating near the coast or in picturesque rural locations are reporting a sharp increase in sales and deals last month. Bargain hunters are snapping up houses that two years ago they were unable to afford or which rarely came on to the market. The trend is expected to continue as buy-to-let owners seek to convert their assets to cash.

Savills has reported that in July its Southampton office, which specialises in properties in the New Forest, along the Solent and in the Isle of Wight, had the best month in takings since the branch opened five years ago.

The firm's Truro office has sold four houses, each worth more than £1million, in less than a week. Lillicrap Chilcott, which specialises in waterside homes in Cornwall, clinched a sale almost every day last month. Holidaymakers have also spotted “For Sale” boards along cliff roads or in popular resorts such as St Ives, Cornwall, and Aldeburgh, Suffolk, where before-sales were conducted more discreetly... more>

Labour’s St. Ives candidate “young, bright, articulate and committed”

2008-07-31T09:52:00.001+01:00

Philippa Latimer, a 25 year-old policy officer at the National House Building Council has been chosen as Labour’s prospective candidate for the St Ives constituency at the next General Election.

Philippa said: “I am extremely proud to be the Labour candidate for St Ives. I look forward to meeting as many people as possible over the coming months and offering positive and progressive politics for the future of the St Ives constituency and Cornwall more widely.”

Labour Party Constituency chair, Cornelius Olivier, said: “We are delighted to have a candidate like Philippa – young, bright, articulate and committed.” more>

County attacked as parking regulations hit patient care

2008-07-30T08:28:00.004+01:00

THE wife of a cancer sufferer has been told that the county council may not look into parking restrictions, which delay patient care, for months.

Sue Rudorf, from Fowey, said that her husband Simon had to be visited by nurses who were having to park outside the town centre to avoid fines issued by the council's new traffic wardens.

It was hoped the county council would allow flexibility of parking for carers after cases in Looe and St Ives were highlighted.

But County Hall decided to refer this to a scrutiny committee, which will present its findings at the next full council meeting, in September... more>

Curfew calls time on the rowdy youth of 'Cornwall's Moss Side'

2008-07-27T09:57:00.005+01:00

"Have you ever been to the Close Hill estate?" the middle-aged man asked. "Good luck. I grew up there and you should only go if you can fight. And whatever you do, don't stay there after dark."

Hearing this warning, you could be forgiven for mistaking the area for one of the notorious and feared housing estates in poverty-stricken areas of Glasgow, Liverpool or Manchester. But we are in the Cornish town of Redruth.

Historically famous for its tin and copper mining, the parish is now renowned for having one of the highest crime rates in Cornwall; vandalism and antisocial behaviour are the most common misdemeanours. Last night, the town began to enforce the ultimate sanction on its unruly youngsters: a curfew requiring anyone under 16 to be indoors by 9pm.

The initiative, Operation Goodnight, will continue for six weeks and focus on the notorious Close Hill estate – a warren of six streets with a reputation for trouble. To the residents, it's the Cornish equivalent of Moss Side in Manchester or one of Glasgow's sink estates... more>

Cornwall: a land of haves, and have nots

2008-07-27T09:50:00.004+01:00

As David Cameron arrives with his family in north Cornwall today, he will join an invading army of the well-heeled that heads down every summer to sample the white sand beaches and temperate weather in what is becoming a rich man's playground.

Crossing into the county along the A30, a sign saying "Welcome To Cornwall" is surrounded on all sides by verdant hills and hedge- rows spilling over with wild flowers. But the road to Rock and Padstow leads to a very different slice of Cornwall life.

As the only county in England to qualify for emergency EU funding, it is actually one of the poorest parts of Europe. A world away from the catamarans of its Kensington holidaymakers, the area is on the front line of the global credit crunch...more>

Audit Commission praise for west Cornwall elderly project

2008-07-17T10:49:00.003+01:00

England's local authorities are not doing enough to make sure the ageing population has enough interesting and worthwhile things to do, a report from the Audit Commission claims today.

The report says most councils are not ensuring older residents can easily find out about areas such as volunteering, leisure and social activities, learning opportunities and transport. It highlights some excellent projects, such as a community radio station run by and aimed at older people in west Cornwall, but suggests that areas with the biggest populations of elderly people are often the worst for making sure they have something to do...more>

Vow to fight Penwith post office closures

2008-07-17T10:44:00.003+01:00

CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight post office closures with a “blizzard” of protests after it was announced that the axe could fall on seven Penwith branches.

Long-awaited plans by the Post Office were revealed on Tuesday with 49 Cornish offices due to close and a further 13 replaced by “outreach” services.

Penzance, Alverton, St Ives, Lelant, Nancledra, Paul and Madron have been earmarked under the Government's Network Change Program, which plans to cut one in five Cornish branches as part of 2,500 closures nationwide...more>

Penzance turns regeneration into a fine art

2008-06-24T16:42:00.002+01:00

Once a small town on the way to nowhere, Penzance has reinvented itself in recent years as a haven for art lovers that is unrivalled in Cornwall... more>

How a lost painting found its way home

2008-06-24T16:31:00.002+01:00

For a small specialised gallery such as Penlee House in Penzance, Cornwall, the experience of being recorded by the Public Catalogue Foundation has been especially useful.

"We specialise in Newlyn School and St Ives paintings from 1880-1930. It's very narrow," explains Penlee curator Alison Bevan. "We happened to be looking through the PCF catalogue for Southampton and came across a rare painting by Sydney Mortimer Lawrence, an American living in St Ives in the 1880s, called 'Setting Sun off the Cornish Coast'." The painting, a large landscape, was something that Penlee House had always hoped to obtain but it had been, effectively, considered missing for years. It had turned up in a dark corner of the storeroom at Southampton Art Gallery when the PCF came cataloguing. Now, thanks to its rediscovery, Penlee House is able to show this work in its summer exhibition Lyrical Light: St Ives 1889-1914... more>

Royal Cinema needs a coat of paint

2008-06-18T20:01:00.006+01:00

The Royal Cinema, which dominates Royal Square in St Ives, has for a long time badly needed a coat of paint - and it now also has a boarded-up broken window to add to the general impression of neglect. Merlin Cinemas who own the Royal should address the problem and give the place a face-lift ( part of the interior of the cinema has been refurbished).

The square itself isn't the prettiest part of the town. Many years ago the St Ives Labour (does it still exist?) ran a competition to attract suggestions for improving the square. Perhaps it's something the Town Council could usefully take-up. Thousands of visitors pass the cinema and square on their way from the coach park and they have plenty of opportunity to view one of the town's less desirable architectural offerings as they wait for the bus to take them back to their coaches and cars.

St Ives favourite in holiday search

2008-06-12T16:04:00.002+01:00

Search statistics have revealed that one British weekend of hot weather has triggered nearly 3/4 of a million searches for UK holidays from Brits, with St Ives in Cornwall leading the way and overseas holidays taking a back seat... more>

Death of John Barnes

2008-06-09T16:01:00.002+01:00

It is with sadness that I have to report the death of John Barnes, film historian, collector, curator and filmmaker... more>

Norway Stores campaigners celebrate decision

2008-06-01T20:06:00.004+01:00

Delighted campaigners who have nervously waited to learn the fate of their local shop are celebrating the refusal of planning permission to change Norway Stores, St Ives, into an art gallery.

The unanimous decision, made by Penwith district council's planning committee on Tuesday, was greeted by relieved and elated lease-holders, Janet and Roy Allen... more>

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-06-01T12:49:00.008+01:00

I have just spent a week at a rain-drenched Hay Festival - hence the absence of posts. I travelled by train (on the St Ives Bay branch line a man with an out-of-date ticket locked himself in the toilet and, after a stern warning from the "train manager," was ejected at Lelant) and was as always amazed by the amount of luggage people seem to need to haul around with them. (I predict that one day train passengers will face the same restrictions on luggage as air passengers).

It's always gratifying to have an observation confirmed. On Saturday, Simon Hoggart made the same point in his Guardian column: :

"Have you noticed that while luggage racks get smaller, luggage gets bigger? It's astounding how much folk carry round these days. Getting to your station is only half the battle. You can wait for ages as people try to manhandle three or four vast suitcases, plus smaller bags, carrier bags, bags of food, bags of papers and magazines, off the train. I know we all own more clothes these days, but do we need to carry the whole wardrobe around with us?"

And often this mountain of luggage can end up stacked on top of your own modest bag.

Also this week, I discovered Hanif Kureishi in the Guardian (he was appearing at the Hay Festival) agreeing with my dislike of the inordinate amount of useless information we are subjected to regarding writers and their likes and dislikes:

"Perhaps taking a swipe at Guardian Review's weekly photographic series Writers' Rooms, he said: "People come and take pictures of writers' desks. They don't," he continued, gesturing around the tent to his audience, "come and take photographs of your desks, do they? It's as if the talent is in the desk."

Parliament: Andrew George MP asks question on second-homes

2008-05-21T19:04:00.002+01:00

In my constituency, three times as many properties continue to be sold to second-home buyers than to first-time buyers. The Government's rural advocate and their Affordable Rural Housing Commission recommend action, and meetings that I had with the Minister for Housing's predecessor and with the Prime Minister have left the door open for action, so can I assume that the Government will act to rebalance the market? If so, when will they do so? more>

How to hear from Andrew George MP

2008-05-20T19:45:00.004+01:00

The MP for this constituency is Andrew George (Liberal Democrat). So far, 65 people have signed up to HearFromYourMP in this constituency. To discover everything you could possibly want to know about what your MP got up to in Parliament, see their page on our sister site... more>

HearFromYourMP

Why Land's End is the pits

2008-05-19T08:45:00.001+01:00

Taking a wheelchair on holiday to St Ives is like being in one of those naval field-gun teams racing over an obstacle course. What were they thinking when they built it? Had they never so much as glanced at the EU directives on accessibility? ...more>

County? Region? Duchy? What do Cornwall MPs say?

2008-05-17T12:34:00.004+01:00

May I suggest a slight amusement? Look at the things Cornwall MPs say and see how they deal with the c-word. Do they say county or use some other word or circumlocution? Is there a pattern? Who never says county? ... more>

Lib Dem priorities...

2008-05-16T16:45:00.005+01:00

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has been urged to put pressure on social network website Facebook to create a network area for people from Cornwall.
Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy, the Falmouth and Camborne MP, presented a petition to Parliament calling for Cornish recognition.

"Despite being a county with a population of 500,000, the nearest geographical area represented on Facebook is the city of Plymouth in Devon," she told MPs.

The petition states: "Cornwall should have its own network region on Facebook. Cornwall possesses one of the world's oldest natural borders, its own language and flag and a population of half a million people."

The petitioners urged Mr Burnham to press Facebook's owners to create a Cornish network... NEWS.scotsman.com

Dogs on beaches (and elsewhere) 7

2008-05-16T13:28:00.007+01:00

A report in this week's St Ives Times & Echo - "St Ives 'being turned into a toilet'" - claims that "parts of St Ives are being turned into a toilet because of a lifting of beach restrictions which now allow dogs on St Ives beaches throughout the summer".

The probable consequences of the new regulations was first raised at the beginning of April by The St Ivean.

The Times & Echo story says:

"There were strong feelings on Wednesday when people living around The Warren said clearing up after dogs had become a daily task.

"Local beaches have now become a free-for-all for dog owners in the evenings and early mornings much to the annoyance of some".

The report says that there are concerns that St Ives could lose its Blue Flag status because of the daily fouling taking place on the beaches. People in The Warren have been told that street cleaning would be done once or twice a week.

Reports of dog fouling can be made to Penwith via the FixMyStreet website.

UPDATE: Norway Stores

2008-05-15T19:58:00.003+01:00

Protesters against the closure of St Ives' Norway Stores gathered in Penzance to oppose two applications to council planners.

Campaigners made their presence felt at St John's Hall as district councillors rejected the first of the controversial change of use planning applications and postponed a decision on the second.

The planning committee will visit the site in Back Road West on the Tuesday morning of May 27 before debating and voting on the issue in a second public meeting around midday... more>

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-05-14T09:44:00.003+01:00

Walking on the Island early this morning I just meet the usual dog walkers - except for an elderly lady who hands me what she assures me is "an interesting tract". She's a Jehovah's Witness and her leaflet informs me that, amongst other unlikely events, "All suffering is TO END SOON" - but doesn't name the day. These people used to knock on doors around Easter, but it appears they now have adopted a different method of bothering us all.

Is contemplating its constitutional navel all that Mebyon Kernow is about?

2008-05-12T18:32:00.015+01:00

In March I wrote:

'Although if anyone can show The St Ivean the last time MK had anything to say remotely touching the life of the man or woman on the Penzance omnibus, they will receive as a reward a lifetime's supply of pasties (fanciful constitutional proposals not allowed, but a real bread-and-butter issue like The St Ivean's recent suggestion for discounted fares for people living in Cornwall on income support, is certainly allowed)'.

On that occasion I was suggesting that MK's silence on the plight of migrant workers in West Cornwall was just one example of the party's failure to connect with the real concerns of real people in the county. It's a point also raised by the blogger mudhook who has remarked on the silence of MK and other nationalists on the effect of the abolition of the ten-pence tax band on the county's poor and, last week, on the estimated 8000 people in Cornwall who will struggle to afford prescription charges.

Is contemplating its constitutional navel all that MK and other Cornish nationalists are about?

OBITUARY: Robert John Harker 'Nokka'

2008-05-11T16:04:00.006+01:00

The St Ivean recently reported the death of 'Nokka'. This week's St Ives Times & Echo carries a contributed obituary which I post here.

'Robert John Harker (Nokka), who died in Steeple Woods, St Ives, on March 29, was a well-known figure in the area. He lived in the woods and was well- liked and respected by the majority of those who knew him. He had many friends among those who visited the woods and who worked there as project volunteers.

Born at Hunstanton in Norfolk, in 1945, and brought up in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, he had a difficult childhood, and was always 'fighting the system'. He recalled hiding in a chicken coop where his mother couldn't reach him to avoid going to school to be 'brain washed'. Nevertheless, he always spoke of his mother with great respect.

Nokka spent the last twenty years living with as little as possible. In fact, it was his aim to live with nothing. He abandoned conventional housing and modern amenities and had no income. In the woods he resided in a bender - the traditional gypsy shelter - using an open fire for cooking and warmth. He also preferred to wear as little clothing as possible and relied for sustenance on salvaging passed 'best sell by date' food from shops and on the goodwill of those who respected his life-style.

For some of these years he enjoyed a loving relationship with a female companion who supported his life-style. The couple had three children, two of whom were born in the Steeple Woods bender. Although his chosen life-style made it difficult to stay in touch he would often talk of his children who now live with their mother.

Seen as an 'anchor' in the woods, Nokka always had a fire going to feed anyone who needed cups of tea and chapattis. Friends would sit round the fire enjoying his stories and humorous conversation. He was something of an aesthetic inspiration to others who shared his concerns over mankind's detrimental effects on the environment and disillusion with modern living.

He enjoyed walking alone along Carbis Bay and Porthkidney beaches and cut a striking, if unconventional figure, with his brown, weather-beaten face, a sincere (if rather stern) expression, dreadlocks and beard. In his own lifetime he became an almost figure of folklore - the guardian of the woods.

Nokka will be sadly missed by many who knew him. Some maybe living alongside him for a while or visited him by way of retreat, for he offered balance to their lives. In these times of remembering him one thing is sure, there will always be laughter.

Nokka leaves three daughters who live with their mother in New Zealand, and a sister who it has not been possible to trace.'

Dogs on beaches (6)

2008-05-10T16:32:00.008+01:00

This week's St Ives Times & Echo publishes a letter from St Ives Town Councillor Tamsyn Williams, who writes to say that she has had many complaints from people, including dog owners, about the new regulations which allow dogs on beaches from 7p.m to 8 a.m. over the next few months.

Cllr Williams makes the point that "it isn't just the dog mess which is worrying but also that children and dogs don't always mix happily...". Quite so, as a contributor to The St Ivean recently pointed out.

People can object to the new regulations (although it's too late to change the regulations for this summer) which, Cllr Williams says, will be reviewed next February, by contacting the Environmental Health Manager, Penwith District Council, St Clare, Penzance TR18 3QW or by telephoning on (01736) 336641.

You can also report instances of dog fouling to Penwith by using the FixMyStreet website.
.

D-day looms for Norway Stores campaigners

2008-05-08T12:40:00.005+01:00

Plans to close a much-loved St Ives corner shop and replace it with a flat or an artist's studio and gallery will be considered by district councillors next week.

Applications by the owners of the Norway Stores will be discussed at the Penwith planning meeting in Penzance on Tuesday, May 13.The change of use proposals have sparked a campaign to maintain the shop as a community resource with hundreds of people signing a petition and sending letters to Penwith District Council... more>

Daffodil harvester stripped of gangmaster licence and accused of using forced labour

2008-05-08T12:05:00.003+01:00

A gangmaster, who ran a company based in Cornwall, has been stripped of his licence... more>

Dogs on beaches (5)

2008-05-06T11:18:00.004+01:00

Since May 1 when the new regulations on dogs on beaches came into force, I have seen just one dog owner on the beaches outside the times allowed. But quite why dogs should be allowed on beaches until a couple of hours before people arrive, is puzzling. The assumption is that dog owners will clear up after their pet. If they don't, then there is a real danger to public health. Where dogs foul the streets it is easily seen and avoided - not so on the beaches. And the risk to health are well-documented. The St Ivean would like to see a total ban on dogs using our beaches.

The jewels of their trade: Breon O'Casey

2008-05-05T11:22:00.002+01:00

WHEN the playwright, philosopher, and memoirist, Sean O'Casey, declared that "laughter is wine for the soul," his son Breon, the celebrated painter, jewellery-maker, weaver, print-maker and sculptor, was clearly paying attention.

Breon, who turned 80 on Wednesday, was in town with his jewellery-maker daughter, Duibhne, for the opening of his exhibition, and it would be hard to find a more modestly humorous and gentle man... more>

Schools debate trust status

2008-04-29T16:40:00.004+01:00

As reported here last month, five Cornish secondary schools are considering breaking away from county council control.

St Ives, Cape Cornwall, Mounts Bay, Hayle and Humphry Davy schools are looking into the possibility of creating a self-governing trust... more>

Penwith answers Freedom of Information requests within time limits

2008-04-28T15:29:00.003+01:00

Since January 2007, Penwith District Council has received 136 requests under the Freedom of Information Act and answered 135 within the 20 working day time limit laid down by the Act. One response took 27 days.

This information was supplied by Barbara Mathews, Penwith's Information Management and Licensing Officer, in response to a request by The St Ivean.

Housing group hold key to Tate future

2008-04-27T09:18:00.002+01:00

A solution to the long-running saga for a multi-million-pound expansion to one of Cornwall's most popular attractions may have been found.

Plans to extend Tate St Ives were first mooted as long ago as 2001, as the gallery became a victim of its own success, drawing nearly three times the predicted number of visitors.

That idea has been pursued in earnest since 2004, when a number of options were put to the public without producing a clear way forward.

Now it has emerged that the Tate has had detailed discussions with Penwith Housing Association, which wants to redevelop and upgrade the Meadow Flats sheltered housing, which neighbours the site... more>

Cornish nationalists silent on 'pauperisation of the poor in Cornwall'

2008-04-25T19:14:00.007+01:00

According to the blogger mudhook, Cornish nationalist parties have been silent on the ten pence income tax rate and its effect on the County's poor.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-04-24T09:23:00.003+01:00

Yesterday the man who seriously overdoses on bathing products boarded the bus at the Malakoff on his way to the Penzance Tesco - but for the first time he was quite odourless. Perhaps his visit to Tesco is to replenish a depleted stock of his favourite odour?

Early indications suggest that the introduction of the national free bus travel pass for the over 60's may lead to riots at bus stations this summer as holidaymakers eschew tour operators and use the free buses for getting around. Sitting behind a couple of holidaymakers from the north of England the other day, I overheard them planning with military like precision how they intended exploring the entire county and beyond by bus during their stay in St Ives. A neighbour who was on her way to visit an elderly relative in hospital, forced her way to the front of a long queue of free bus pass users loudly declaring, "I live here and have important business - please let me through". And, taken by surprise and overawed by her fierceness, they did just that.

Cornish ethnicity : census refuseniks wanted

2008-04-23T17:08:00.003+01:00

"I will refuse to fill out the 2011 UK census unless there is a Cornish ethnicity tick box option but only if 1,000 other people will do the same." ... more>

Dogs on beaches (4)

2008-04-23T10:01:00.004+01:00

The changes to the dog fouling rules have certainly given the green light to the dog owning fraternity in St Ives. This morning before 10 o'clock I was struck by the number of people walking their dogs on the beaches and through the town. And the fouling isn't just on the beaches. This morning a man whose dog had just used Porthgwidden beach, then proceeded to the Harbour beach for further evacuations, making use of Wheal Dream along the way.

Dogs on beaches (3)

2008-04-22T09:11:00.004+01:00

Porthmeor beach this morning at 08:15 and a dog is yelping and yapping at my ankles until its owner whistles it off. On Porthgwidden there are two dogs one of which is defecating on the sand close to the cafe. The dog's owner is indifferent and walks on.

Millions of pounds was spent on preventing sewage from reaching our beaches. Now it seems they are becoming dog latrines.

Eviction of migrant workers: a police version

2008-04-20T19:20:00.009+01:00

A police news release in February contains a statement wrongly giving the impression that help with accommodation was provided for migrant workers evicted from premises in Penzance following the 'Operation Westport' dawn raid in January. The truth is that reported on the blog on Tuesday.

But the release also demonstrates that eviction is not the only possible answer to fire and health conditions:

" Many visits were made to accommodation sites where fire safety and environmental health advice was given. One visit included enabling a health worker to visit a mother and her very young baby on a farm and offer support to her. Compliance checks will be made in the future to those landlords who were given ‘advice’."

Also see Gangmaster Operation: Operation Westport

Dogs on beaches (2)

2008-04-20T10:29:00.005+01:00

This morning at 09:50 there were ten people on Porthmeor Beach - and just as many dogs. Leaving aside for the moment the horrors of dog fouling, I don't see why I should have to share the beach with a pack of hounds on a Sunday morning.

New signs have gone up since my last post on the subject. Now dogs are banned from some beaches from 1 May and September 30 - at least we are rid of the fuzzy 'Easter Day' problem. But the confusion is likely to persist because there are different rules and penalties for different beaches. A ban on dogs on beaches throughout the year with hefty fines for offenders would make things clear.

Let's have more alfresco dining in St Ives

2008-04-19T12:14:00.004+01:00

Congratulations to the Alfresco Restaurant which looks set to get permission to expand its seating by using part of the pedestrian area outside the restaurant for tables and chairs, according to a report in this week's St Ives Times & Echo.

District councillors are due to make a decision on Tuesday. County Highways have not objected but have suggested a solid barrier rather than the proposed rope barrier.

Last month St Ives Town Council objected (of course) fearing it would somehow make life more difficult for pedestrians along the Wharf and that a precedent would be set. But in a report, Penwith planners say that there would still be enough space for pedestrians since there would be just two tables with four chairs. Penwith also dismissed the precedent objection.

The report says,

"Given the variety of shop fronts, awnings and signage which characterise the Wharf, the proposal is not considered to be intrusive and an outdoor seating area is not out of keeping with this seaside town."

Exactly. Indeed, The St Ivean hopes a precedent has been set. Although, as the report points out, there are limited opportunities for such developments through lack of space in front of shops, more outside seating will add to the colour and vibrancy of the town.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-04-18T16:08:00.006+01:00

This week I saw in Fore Street a man I encountered recently on the St Erth to St Ives train. He and two companions were travelling on a train from London which was running a few minutes late and which I had boarded at Truro. As we arrived at St Erth, the branch line train departed.

The branch line train cannot wait for late mainline trains because it is now a twice an hour service which is a tight timetable.

The man I saw in Fore Street (I suspect he is a second homer and a Londoner), began to berate the ticker collector on the branch line train when it arrived. His male companion - closely shaven head, outrageous shorts - joined in. Only their woman companion seemed embarrassed by the inability of this pair to understand why their demand that the branch line train could and should wait for any late mainline trains could not be satisfied.

They informed us all that although they were supporters of public transport, this support might well be withdrawn if they had to wait for trains in Cornwall. (I rather assumed that where they came from, trains were never late).

If the branch line train departs as the mainline train arrives, it is certainly irritating but not quite the end of the world. It means a twenty-five minute wait for the train to return. Of course, if it were to wait it would be late on its return which might mean passengers missing connections to London, Glasgow - anywhere up the line. And that really would be cause for complaint.

UPDATE: Migrant workers and FoIA - Penwith's response

2008-04-17T15:16:00.010+01:00

Penwith District Council has now responded to my Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) requests for information about the eviction of migrant workers and my separate request for information about the Council's record on responding to FoIA questions.

The Council's response:

The Council is in receipt of three FOI requests from you dated 12 April 2008, asking :-
1 - "Please provide me with all information in the Council's possession relating to the eviction of migrant workers from premises in Penzance on 9 November 2007 and of any other evictions of migrant workers that year"

2- "Over the last 24 months, how many properties have been recorded by the Council where there was a possibility of overcrowding and unsafe conditions within the properties?

What action did the Council take? Please give kind of action and numbers. (For example, 'In 6 cases, a Warning'.)

Where evictions took place, how many of those properties were occupied by migrant workers?"

3 - "How many complaints relating to noise nuisance and litter accumulations have been received by the Council over the past 24 months?

What action did the Council take?

Did any evictions result and, if so, how many of those involved migrant workers?"
The Council is also in receipt of a letter from you dated 12 April 2008, addressed to Mr B Turnbull which was further to Mr Turnbull's answer to your FOI request of 1 March 2008.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, in certain situations, the costs of answering more than one request can be added together or aggregated for the purposes of estimating whether the appropriate limit would be exceeded. It is the Council's opinion that your requests outlined above shall be treated as an aggregated request.

Under the freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, the Council considers that the cost of complying with your FOI request would be in the region of £1425.00 (estimated at 37 hours to deal with noise nuisance and litter element of request and 20 hours to deal with housing element of request = 57 hours x £25.00 per hour = £1425.00) therefore exceeding the appropriate limit.

You should be advised that a modified request will be given due consideration provided the work involved does not, again exceed the appropriate limit.

Please do not hesitate to contact this office or Barry Turnbull direct if you require any further assistance on this matter or if you wish to discuss what information might be available within a time scale, which does not exceed the appropriate limit.

Please find attached a copy of the Council's FOI complaints procedure and details regarding charging.

Regards

Clare James

I post below the text of the letter sent to Mr Barry Turnbull on April 12.

Mr B Turnbull
Penwith District Council
St Clare
Penzance
Cornwall
TR18 3QW
Your Ref: btu

12 April 2008

Dear Mr Turnbull

Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Thank you for your letter dated March 7 2008 in response to my FoIA request of March 1 2008, emailed to me (outside the Act’s 20-business day requirement) on April 8 2008. Please note that the original letter has not been received here.

1) Please provide me with a copy of the authorisation for entry and of the 24 hours notice of intention to enter; if Sec 72, 95 or 233(3) of the Act applied, please supply details.
2) Please tell me the legal reasons why you have not disclosed the Fire Safety Authority’s Report to me. It is clearly in the public interest that such reports are published to help avoid future risk to life or injury relating to fire. Indeed, it would appear irresponsible not to disclose. You will also be aware of your duty under section 16 of the Act.
3) Was there actual overcrowding at the properties and if so by what legal/statutory criteria, if those criteria had been applied? How many occupants were there at each property and how many rooms did the properties have?
4) What were the circumstances of the person accommodated for one night and what happened to him/her subsequently?
5) Please give me the legal reasoning for your refusal to tell me the addresses raided. If it is a public interest reason, tell me the criteria used. The addresses are known to the occupants of the premises, witnesses, and support groups and to others in the community. In those circumstances, your claim that the addresses are confidential to the Council appears irrational. It is difficult for members of the public to exercise their right to scrutinise the actions of public officials when those officials keep essential information secret.

I am happy to receive the requested information in hard copy or electronic format and to inspect documents on site.

If my request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the Act. I will also expect you to release all non-exempt material. I reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to charge excessive fees.

I understand that it is your responsibility to provide the information I require and that I do not have to specify particular files or documents.

Please respond within the 20 business days as outlined in the Act.

Sorry, but no new Tory dawn for St Ives after all (2)

2008-04-16T19:03:00.015+01:00

Earlier this week, The St Ivean posted the blog's first report (see below) on the misfortunes of St Ives Conservatives with the story of how 'a new Dawn for St Ives' Mrs Dawn Parry failed to be selected as Conservative candidate for three parliamentary seats, one of which was St Ives. Instead, at the selection meeting last October, the St Ives Association selected Derek Thomas as its candidate.

So far, so good - and the party's website invited visitors to return to the site for regular updates on Derek's activities in the Constituency.

Not so good, since, according to the site, Derek seems to have done absolutely nothing at all since his victory over Mrs Parry six months ago.

Another failed new dawn for St Ives Conservatives?

Gangmaster licence loophole 'must close'

2008-04-15T16:11:00.004+01:00

A loophole which allows gangmasters to break their licences but escape effective punishment must be closed immediately, Westcountry politicians have demanded... more>

Migrant workers evicted by Penwith Council were told, 'Sorry, the Housing Department is closed this afternoon'

2008-04-15T14:47:00.009+01:00

Twenty-two Polish migrants evicted from premises in Penzance in January in 'Operation Westport,' were told by Penwith's Housing Department that the department was closed on Wednesday afternoons and that there was no help available, sources have told The St Ivean. The source added that on other occasions assistance offered by Penwith was just a list of unaffordable accommodation addresses.

The source, who has close connections with the migrant community in Cornwall, said that some of the properties closed down by Penwith in the past needed to be closed. But the source was shocked at the way in which the operation was carried out.

It is understood that in the past Penwith has suggested that temporary hostel accommodation might be provided for such situations, but so far nothing has come of the idea.

The St Ivean has learned that at a soon to be held meeting of groups charged with the welfare of migrant workers, it will be strongly argued that the methods of any future 'Operation Westports' need to change.

The St Ivean believes that the Council is wrong in its belief that it has no duty in law to house homeless migrant workers from the A8 accession states which include Poland.

Freedom of Information: more questions for Penwith District Council about migrant workers

2008-04-15T07:13:00.008+01:00

I have asked Penwith District Council more questions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, relating to migrant workers and a question about the Council's record on replying to FoIA requests for information. These can be seen at WhatDoTheyKnow?

I have followed-up Penwith's reply to my questions of March 1 with a letter to Penwith's Mr B Turnbull. The full text of that letter will be posted on the blog soon.

Sorry, but no new Tory Dawn for St Ives after all

2008-04-14T15:50:00.019+01:00

Over coming months, The St Ivean will be reporting on the fortunes - and certainly the misfortunes - of Conservatives in St Ives. And what better start could one hope for than the story of Councillor Dawn Parry, a member of Weston Town Council and unitary authority.

The Weston & Somerset Mercury has just reported how Councillor Parry - a singer - has failed to be selected as Conservative candidate for no less than three parliamentary seats - one being St Ives for whose fortunate folk Councillor Parry threatened 'a new Dawn for St Ives'. And now there are no more vacant seats in the South West. As another Weston councillor put it: "It sounds like she cannot wait to get out of Weston."

Councillor Parry has trashed her 'a new Dawn for St Ives' promise from her website (there's a picture, though, of the Councillor training for her Westminster ambitions by scaling the north face of the Eiger), but it's all there in the cached original. Enjoy.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-04-13T15:30:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, the man of the overpowering bathing product boarded the bus en route from Penzance to St Ives. He was wearing flapping khaki shorts, a khaki shirt and a large bush hat of the same colour, with sandals and white ankle socks - the sort of outfit redolent of Australian outbackers or the dress requirement for an African safari rather than a shopping trip to Morrisons. Once seated and having removed his hat, he immediately pulled from his shopping bag his Rubrik Cube which occupied him for about two minutes when he returned it to his bag, the puzzle satisfactorily completed. He then produced a pack of playing cards, the shuffling of which occupied him all the way to Lelant when the Rubrik Cube reappeared.

The death of 'Nokka'

2008-04-13T07:50:00.004+01:00

A letter in the correspondence columns of the St Ives Times & Echo records the death of 'Nokka', a man who lived in Steeple Woods and who was found dead inside his bender shelter. The letter writer says that he was in a 'poor state' and that he was well known to many people in the area.

An 'In Memoriam' entry in the paper 'from friends' calls him 'Keeper to the Woods'.

Many years ago when people first moved into Steeple Woods, there was the usual reaction from the authorities who claimed danger to heath as one reason to evict the bender dwellers.

I do not know who 'Nokka' was (if anyone would like to contact The St Ivean with more information, a fuller obituary may be posted), but it is encouraging to learn that his unusual lifestyle was tolerated and that he was well-regarded and liked. As the 'beatnik' years demonstrated, St Ives does not have a good record in accommodating unconventional lifestyles.

Migrant workers and official secrecy

2008-04-12T15:11:00.006+01:00

I have now responded to Penwith's late reply to my FoIA request for information about the eviction of Polish migrant workers from premises in Penzance, in a letter to Mr B Turnbull, the Council's Environmental Health Co-ordinator (Housing). I shall shortly post that letter on the blog and the details of two further FoIA requests I am placing on a public site.

A new issue is emerging from this matter - that of the secrecy and obfuscation which is the instinctive response of public servants and politicians to requests for information from members of the public. It's an issue The St Ivean will be exploring and campaigning on over the coming months - and this blog's raison d'etre.

Migrant workers: The FoIA request and reply

2008-04-08T13:07:00.004+01:00

I have now received Penwith's response, which I now post here, to my FoIA request for information about the eviction of Polish migrant workers from premises in Penzance earlier this year. Comment will follow.

The Freedom of Information Request

The Chief Executive
Penzance District Council
St Clare
Penzance
Cornwall
TR18 3QW

1 March 2008

Dear Mr McKenna

I write with a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act regarding the eviction in February this year of migrant workers from premises in Penzance by Council officers and others.

(1) Please tell me under what legislation (Sections, etc) the Council acted.
(2) Please tell me the precise circumstances (i.e. the nature of the overcrowding and risks to life or injury) at the raided premises; and why those circumstances required the immediate ejection of the tenants into the street.
(3) Please tell me what enquiries the Council made prior to the raid to contact the landlord and/or tenants to establish the facts; and what notices were given.
(4) Please tell me the precise nature of the advice given by the eviction team to the evicted tenants, how many were subsequently accommodated by the Council, and for how long.
(5) Please tell me the addresses raided.

I very much welcome public statements by Council officers that they are concerned with others in the county for the welfare of migrants.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Reply:

Your Ref :
My Ref: btu
Ask For: Mr B Turnbull
Direct Dial: 01736 336634
Email: barry.turnbull@penwith.gov.uk
Date: 07 March 2008

Dear Mr Bland

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I write in response to your letter received 03 March 2008.

1. Council officers acted under sections 4 and 239 of the Housing Act 2004

2. Two properties were visited and inspected under warrant. Conditions of risk to life or injury relating to fire safety were enforced by the Fire Safety Authority, so therefore I cannot comment on this under this request. Conditions of overcrowding were found at both premises inspected, however as Fire Safety Officers were serving formal notice to prohibit the use of the premises for occupation, no action under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System was deemed necessary.

3. Council were made aware of the possibility of overcrowding and unsafe conditions within the properties through information gathered from Environmental Protection (from complaints from members of the public in respect of noise nuisance and refuse accumulations), Devon and Cornwall Police and support organisations who were approached by the occupants of the houses directly.

4. All occupiers were interviewed by a Polish translator working for the support organisation mentions in 3. above, who then liaised with the Councils Housing Advice team; the advice given was under Outcome 2 of the Councils 2025 Vision, which is published on the Council website www.penwith.gov.uk., which applies to all residing in Penwith. The outcome of the interviews was that one person was placed into temporary accommodation by the Council for one night; all others were either
accommodated by the landlord or by the employment agency from whom the property was rented.

5. The addresses of the properties inspected under Operation Westport are and will remain confidential to Penwith District Council.

I trust that this answers your request.

Yours sincerely

B Turnbull
Environmental Health Co-ordinator (Housing)

The things they say: Councillor Harry Isaacs

2008-04-08T11:03:00.001+01:00

An insight into the minds of local personalities and politicians through their own words.

This week, Councillor Harry Isaacs who appeared (rabbit like) transfixed by the lamps of the Cafe Pasta.

The St Ives Times & Echo reported on Friday that planning officers had approved lighting on the exterior of the Cafe Pasta (which had already subdued its lighting) on the Wharf - an approval too far for Cllr Isaacs who told St Ives Town Council:

"I don't understand. I totally disagree. If you look at the harbour it [sic] stands out like a sore thumb. It's totally different to everything else that's in the Wharf area. It shines like a headlamp across the harbour.

'The majority of people keep a sensible level of lighting but this goes against everything else others are doing there."

He added that there was a lot of good illumination but the fluorescent lighting was "too harsh."

And:

"It takes away what everyone else down there has done with their lighting. It's totally unnecessary."

Cllr Isaacs is an electrician.

Next week: Councillor Harry Isaacs says NO.

Migrant workers: Penwith misses FOIA deadline

2008-04-05T11:42:00.003+01:00

Penwith District Council has failed to respond within the statutory 20-working day limit to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about the eviction of Polish migrant workers from premises in Penzance earlier this year. The deadline for a reply was last Tuesday, April 1.

The Council has now been considering my request for five weeks. No explanation has been offered by the Council for the delay.

As this is a request for information about a very recent matter, one would expect all relevant documents to be readily available.

I have told Clare James, Penwith's Information Management and Licensing Officer, of my concern at the Council's failure to carry out its statutory duty and asked to see the Council's complaints handling policy.

The evictions and the manner in which they were carried out is of concern to individuals and to the community. It is in the public interest that there should be full and transparent disclosure of all the facts.

I expect to soon lodge another FOIA request to the Council for information about at least one other case involving the eviction of migrant workers from premises in Penzance.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-04-04T18:33:00.003+01:00

A young man who used to catch the 9.05 a.m St Ives to Penzance bus possessed an uncanny ability to arrive at the Malakoff bus station just seconds before the bus departed. Of course, it would not have been at all remarkable if the bus had always left on time, but it rarely did so. And the young man never missed the bus. I guess he was a garage mechanic as he always wore clean blue overalls and got off the bus at a stop close to a garage. Do garage mechanics have some kind of sixth sense that tells them even at a distance when a vehicle's engine is about to start? Did the young man live close to the Malakoff and was thus able to observe from his window the state of readiness of the bus and its driver? Was he in some kind of telepathic communication with the driver?

He also had a unique manner of de-bussing. He would ring the bell but would remain seated even after the bus had stopped. In my experience, most people rise from their seat just before they arrive at their stop. Elderly people are even more cautious and are out of their seats far too early. This young man always waited until the bus had come completely to rest on its springs and passengers were looking around to see why the bell had been rung before he sprang to his feet and strode decisively down the aisle looking straight ahead and off the bus thanking the driver as he went.

He always carried a plastic box which I assumed contained his packed lunch. I often wondered what it consisted of, but was never able to discover just what it might be.

UPDATE: Penzance Co-op to get 'makeover'

2008-04-02T15:47:00.006+01:00

Penzance's Market Jew Street Co-op is to have a 'makeover' this year.

Mr John Holmes, of the Co-op's customer relations team, told The St Ivean today that the Co-op's stores are due for refit in the coming months.

The St Ivean criticised the state of the Penzance store in a recent post.

Mr Holmes said:

"I do not have a exact date when this is due to happen, but please be assured that it will have its 'makeover' this year, and hopefully you will be very pleased with the results."

Dogs on beaches

2008-04-02T11:56:00.005+01:00

The decision to modify the rules on allowing dogs on beaches seems to have produced either confusion or irresponsibility amongst dog owners in St Ives. Over the past few days, I have seen dogs on Porthmeor, Porthgwidden and the Harbour beaches outside the times (between 7pm and 8am) dogs are allowed there under the new rules - if, indeed, the new rules have yet come into force.

But why choose Easter Day as the start day for the annual ban (which runs until October 1) on dogs on some beaches ? Many people don't know the date when that day falls (this year it was March 23). The end date is clear and so should the start date. It makes no sense to use a moveable and thus ambiguous date.

Life expectancy mapped

2008-04-01T07:52:00.003+01:00

A child born in one area of the Westcountry could live up to 18 years longer than a child born elsewhere in the region, a report has revealed.

And even within towns there can be a staggering difference in the age someone can hope to live to.

Devon sees the most dramatic difference in life expectancy, with both the highest predicted lifespan, in Ivybridge Woodlands in the south of the county, and the lowest, in Ilfracombe in the north.

However, in Cornwall, life expectancy can still vary by nearly ten years depending on the town of birth... more>

Bliss of the bus-crawl

2008-03-31T14:06:00.003+01:00

Over-60s are set to ride free on all England's local services. It's liberating...

...The best companies too (which are often the small ones) will happily recommend their most enjoyable journeys (this is how I discovered the Western Greyhound 556 and now know that the 501 Newquay to St Ives, summer only, is worth trying too). In places like Cornwall, the time to make these journeys is now, before its roads are clotted with cars, and buses run late, and connections are missed and the joys of the liberation that is ENCTS from tomorrow may not be quite so unqualified. more>

The Co-op isn't making much of a contribution to 'fashionable' Penzance...

2008-03-30T13:19:00.011+01:00

Earlier this month, one of this blog's posts carried a Times newspaper article describing Penzance as much improved from a decade ago and as 'fashionable'.

The Co-op isn't making much of a contribution to the town's new image.

Its Pioneer store on Market Jew Street is in dire need of renovation. Externally it needs more than a lick of paint and inside it's shabby and uninviting. Its next door Off Licence is no better. For weeks it had (and may still have) a damaged door and the carpet inside is stained and unsightly. It's surprising that a major retailer like the Co-op should allow one of its stores to reach such a state - unless it's about to close it down or begin a major renovation.

Not so long ago, the Co-op's stores in St. Ives were completely renovated and are now clean, bright and a pleasure to shop in. The St Ivean will be asking the Co-op what plans it has for its Penzance stores.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-03-29T09:28:00.006Z

Walking along Wharf Road I detect on the wind the presence somewhere of the man who seriously overdoses on bathing products. But I'm mistaken. This time the same odour is coming from an elderly lady I've seen around the town before. She's sitting enjoying the Spring sunshine on a bench at the Fishermen's Lodge. This lady always dresses in startling colours, seeming to specialise in what I should call the Romany Style - bright embroidered voluminous dresses with beads and bangles. This morning the eye-catching piece of her wardrobe is a very long scarf of Rastafarian colours and design.

On the bus from Penzance to St Ives yesterday was the Small Woman with the Loud Voice. Her usual modus operandi is to board the bus with her Iceland shopping, but to continue to converse via a series of shouted statements with her obese daughter left standing on the pavement (she must live in Penzance), as we wait to depart the bus station. This shouting exchange usually continues even as the bus departs the station.

On one occasion I had to endure this for several minutes as the bus was late in departing, so I was mightily relieved when the bus at last moved off and the woman fell silent and her daughter shrank into a tiny speck in the distance. Then, just as I settled down to enjoy a tranquil journey, she produced an ancient mobile phone from her pocket and resumed the conversation with her daughter at full volume for several long miles. Later, as we approached Lelant, she took a call from her son anxiously enquiring if she had purchased a goldfish bowl and food for the goldfish and that he would meet her at the Malakoff. In fact, it took until the Malakoff to establish that the said bowl and food ("it cost me a pound"), had indeed been safely purchased and accompanied her on the bus.

At the Malakoff, the Small Woman with the Loud Voice was met by her goldfish owning son whom I estimated to be about forty years old.

GULP - but is there any mileage in 'food miles'?

2008-03-29T07:28:00.012Z

On Wednesday, The St Ivean posted (see below) news of a new farmers' market in St Ives with the organisers claiming that it "will reduce the environmental impact of 'food miles'".

An alternative view on the concept of food miles appears in the online journal spiked.

At last, people are questioning the eco-parochialism of the local-food lobby. But what we need now is a loud defence of modernised food production... more>

The St Ives market will be open between 9.30am and 3pm every Thursday from April 3. Admission is free. For further information, please contact Tim Andrewes on 01736 795387

'Democratic deficit' fears for Penwith

2008-03-27T16:22:00.003Z

Penwith will suffer from a cut back of more than half of the councillors currently representing the district when the new unitary authority takes over.

A current total of 45 district and county councillors serve Penwith, (35 district and 10 county councillors), but this will be reduced to a total of 20 councillors at the most under the new authority.

The public is being asked to give recommendations by April 21 to the Boundary Committee for England on the boundary changes and number of councillors to be seen under the unitary authority... more>

GULP - new farmers' market for St Ives

2008-03-26T08:33:00.007Z

Shoppers will have a new opportunity to buy fresh local produce from 3rd April, when a farmers’ market opens in St Ives.

The markets will be held on Thursdays every week at the Backpackers, just up from Royal Square. A range of food and drink will be available, all of which has been produced within 30 miles of the town, including fresh meats and fish, vegetables, fruit juice, speciality breads, chocolates, herbs and flowers. Around a dozen local farms and food businesses will be attending the market each week.

The markets have been organised by a community group, GULP, ( Great-tasting Unbeatable Local Produce). The aim of the markets is to give residents the chance to buy more local food than is available in the larger supermarkets. This will help strengthen the area’s farming economy and will reduce the environmental impact of ‘food miles’ – the distance food travels from the farm to the consumer.

One of the market organisers, Tim Andrewes, commented:

" Since the idea of a local farmers’ market was first raised, there has been a lot of interest from shoppers as well as food producers. Bookings for the first markets are already going well, even though the number of crops available in April tends to be quite limited. We expect to have a range of vegetables and fruit that changes through the seasons.

"One of the great aspects of farmers’ markets is that shoppers can meet local producers and talk with them about how the food is made, or how their animals are treated. This is really important in giving consumers confidence in the quality of what they’re buying, and it also helps to connect people with local farmers and growers."

The farmers’ market project has been supported by Penwith District Council and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund’s Small Grant Scheme.

The market will be open between 9.30am and 3pm every Thursday. Admission is free. For further information, please contact Tim Andrewes on 01736 795387.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-03-25T19:03:00.003Z

The man of the overpowering bathing product is gossiping in the newsagents on Tregenna Hill but today he doesn't seem to be talking Rubrik Cube or playing card magic - but I don't have time to eavesdrop this afternoon. A freezing cold day but he's stoically wearing his shorts.

Across the road there's a notice in the window of the shortly to be opened SubWay ('restaurant' or 'store', depending on which country's SubWay website you visit). They sell sandwiches and salads. The notice advertises vacancies for staff amongst which 'sandwich artists' are required. So I shall expect something rather more than the bread with fillings they show on their website menus.

Standing in the cold behind a couple of tourists at the money machine, I quietly curse the time it's taking them to complete their transaction. The care with which they peer at the buttons and screen makes me think that perhaps they're landing the Space Shuttle rather than merely withdrawing £10.

Ask Ephraim

2008-03-25T08:38:00.001Z

As seasoned followers of The St Ivean know, Ephraim appeared frequently on earlier blogs, dispensing opinion, knowledge, advice, folklore and myth for the price of a pint or two. So this fount of all wisdom has been invited back to answer any questions you care to put to him. His mailbox will soon be full - so get your questions in soon.

From: A St Ivean
St Ives, Cornwall

Dear Ephraim

When I tie my shoe laces on a particular pair of shoes, I'm sure I do it in exactly the same way with both shoes. Why, then, do the laces of the right shoe always eventually unravel and rarely the left shoe? (In case it's relevant, I'm right-handed).

An unusual question which I passed on to the Guardian newspaper's Notes & Queries feature. A reader suggested this explanation:

I expect if you're right-handed, you're also right-footed, and lead with your right leg when walking, kicking, etc. I bet it gets a fair bit more action than your left and forces the laces apart.
Ross, Manchester

I hope this helps with your question. I'll keep you informed of any other explanations.

Thank you for contacting The St Ivean.

Cornwall petitions the Prime Minister

2008-03-24T08:58:00.034Z

Enter "Cornwall" into the search box of the Downing Street E-Petitions website and you'll get a flavour of some of the concerns - serious and outlandish - currently exercising folk this side of the Tamar.

There is the petitioner who wanted the Prime Minister to ban all tourists from Devon and Cornwall in August (10 signatures). Another petitioner wanted the Prime Minister to rule that only pasties containing all Cornish indredients and made in Cornwall to be named "Cornish Pasties" (10 signatures). Another wanted to ensure the well-being of the Great White Shark (16 signatures). Several petitioners are objecting to unitary status.

Mebyon Kernow's leader Cllr Dick Cole has recently launched a petition asking the Prime Minister to reject the plan from unelected South West quangos to construct 68,700 new properties in Cornwall (currently 249 signatures). Anyone thinking of signing Cllr Cole's petition should first read the blogger mudhook's view on Cllr Cole's position.

So far, only six people have signed to increase wages in Cornwall and only five supported a petition to create more fairness in Cornwall's water rates by instuting [sic] a "water tax".

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-03-23T11:01:00.004Z

The man who seriously overdoes the use of bath foam or shower gel, gets on the bus at the Malakoff and takes a seat right behind me. I am immediately enveloped in an heavy odour. Although it's a cold day, he's wearing the usual shorts although he's without his large floppy hat, exposing his bald head to the cold air. He carries a green Tesco Shopping Bag for Life. For some reason, he uses the Tesco store at Eastern Green in Penzance rather than the one at Carbis Bay. Perhaps only the Penzance store stocks his gel or foam.

As soon as he takes a seat he begins a conversation with a man further down the bus who claims to be an overworked builder: the subject is as usual the Rubrik Cube. From behind my head I hear energetic clicking as a cube is being twisted furiously. As he does this, he is telling the builder that he can complete the puzzle in just under two minutes but that the world record is 15 seconds. (Actually, it's 9.18 seconds). He also says that manipulating the cube is good exercise as he suffers from arthritis. Then he announces he's done and asks the builder to confirm that it was achieved under his two minute target and the builder readily agrees.

At Eastern Green he leaves the bus (the builder departed earlier), from the pavement waving to other passengers he has conversed with throughout the journey. All the way to the bus station, the odour of his bathing product permeates the vehicle.

The things they say: MR K D VARNALS

2008-03-22T15:56:00.007Z

An insight into the minds of local personalities and politicians through their own words.

This week, Mr K D Varnals, whose manic diatribe against local government in the correspondence columns of the St Ives Times & Echo - the "new unitary dictatorship", "this leviathan" and "the faceless incompetents who reside in Truro" - managed to equate it all with the collapse of the Evil Empire:

"...we have all watched the Soviet block [sic] with its centralised control and bureaucracies crumble, because the whole thing became too slow to respond to local conditions".

It almost makes one nostalgic for the sweet reasonableness of the front page of Pravda.

Migrant workers and Andrew George MP

2008-03-22T09:24:00.009Z

Andrew George MP has replied to The St Ivean's
recent post, So, where are all the progressives?

He comments:
"What I am able to say is that I was one of those MPs who was instrumental in setting up the Gangmaster Licensing Authority, have taken up and supported many cases on behalf of migrants and migrant workers, and importantly, respect my duty to protect the confidentiality of the individuals who bring casework to me."

What is puzzling about this statement is its implication that because one has a duty to respect confidentiality in individual cases, it's therefore impossible to engage in public debates about the general issues raised by those individual cases. But Mr George cannot possibly mean that because it's obvious nonsense. So what does he mean?

Of course, one must respect confidentiality. The St Ivean, too, does not make use of information obtained under conditions of confidentiality.

But public debate of the issues is also essential.

If The St Ivean had not challenged Penwith over the eviction of migrant workers, the Council would not have been challenged at all. (Except, perhaps, for the reported comment of a witness to the eviction who Mr Allan Hampshire contrived, in his letter to the Cornishman newspaper of March 13, to airbrush from the scene).

The St Ivean welcomes and applauds any work Mr George has done on behalf of migrant workers and their families. But Penwith has still to answer key questions about the eviction of Polish migrant workers in Penzance. The St Ivean believes that our MP should be urging the Council to answer those questions - and there are good reasons why he should be doing it publicly.

Only the parents can scupper the plan to make St Ives School a trust school

2008-03-21T10:43:00.024Z

The St Ives Times & Echo this week reports teacher union opposition to the proposal, first reported by The St Ivean, to turn five schools in Penwith, including St Ives School, over to trust status.

But protest as much as they like, it is not the NASUWT or any other union that has the power to halt this project - their influence will be marginal. The power to scupper it lies solely with the parents of students at the school.

Although they may have difficulty in deciding if trust status will ultimately be worthwhile or not for a school that has done well in recent years, parents should have no such doubts about the probable baleful effect of the project on the students currently at St Ives School. The experience of similar projects, much less ambitious than this one, suggests that their education will almost certainly suffer.

A school can be seriously disrupted once projects such as these get underway. Unless carefully handled, conflict develops within the school which leads to loss of morale and confidence amongst staff.

It can be hugely diversionary for the daily life of a school, demanding much preparatory work. Headteachers and deputies may disappear for days on end to attend meetings or they remain closeted in their offices preparing reports or bids. Classes are taught by staff who are not specialists in the subject they are covering and precious preparation time is lost covering for colleagues working on the project. An endless stream of supply teachers passes through the school. This can go on for months and long after the project is in place.

Parents of students at St Ives School should ask Headteacher David Harris to show them estimates of the impact of the preparatory work for trust status on the school's students and the plans to manage the impact.

Even parents who are sympathetic to the idea of trust status might think again when their son or daughter returns home with news of yet another lesson that day taught by yet another supply teacher, while Mr Harris and his fellow headteachers in Penwith are busy pursuing the uncertain prize of trust status for their schools.

LINKS: What are Trust Schools?

Heads reject trust schools proposals

Migrant workers: key questions remain

2008-03-21T08:35:00.008Z

So far the local media has not reported The St Ivean's reply to Allan Hampshire's letter in the Cornishman newspaper of March 13 defending Operation Westport, the eviction of Polish migrant workers from houses in Penzance.

There are five questions:

1) Were the evictions at all stages lawful?
2) Were there children among the evicted and, if so, how were they accommodated and for how long?
3) What precisely were the conditions at the premises?
4) Did those conditions leave the Council with no alternative but to eject the tenants onto the streets?
5) What consideration was given to the effect of the evictions on community relations?

Until we have clear answers to the above, the questioning will go on.

Diary of a St Ivean

2008-03-19T19:00:00.005Z

Two days before the Great Storm, I discovered in next door's garden the builder responsible for the scaffolding that will soon have been there for twelve months. When I reminded him of the approaching anniversary, he sheepishly mumbled that he'd nearly finished but that the weather had been so poor that...

He was talking about the sunniest February since records began.

But it seems he got the message because yesterday I saw in the garden next door a man wearing a woollen hat and with a cigarette dangling from his month staring up at the house and the scaffolding. I decided he was either a burglar casing the place or the scaffolder himself. Soon the merry sound of steel tubes and bolts being hurled to the ground confirmed that it was the latter.

Though the stuff is still there now lying in the garden waiting to be taken away. Don't hold your breath.

In Penzance yesterday I had my hair cut by a young lady who thankfully didn't utter a word during the whole operation (for which I rewarded her with a modest tip), except to enlighten me on the grading of haircut lengths. It seems that grade one is Yul Brynner short right up to grade eight. She gave me a seven. So now I know and can on future visits demonstrate some knowledge of the art and fashion of modern barbering.

Credit card debt rising faster in west Cornwall

2008-03-19T16:03:00.003Z

Credit card debt is rising faster in west Cornwall than anywhere in the UK, figures obtained by the BBC show.
The average amount on a card has gone up from £1,147 to £1,644, a rise of £497 over the last year.

Elsewhere in the county it has risen by only £12, according to credit ratings agency Experian... more>

A website for St Ives Town Council

2008-03-18T15:50:00.008Z

It seems that St Ives Town Council is at last likely to get a website, several years after The St Ivean proposed the idea and resurrected it in February. In that same post, The St Ivean suggested that the Green members on the Council might bring in some changes. So it appears.

The Town Clerk, Malcolm Veal, is about to retire. The St Ivean here wishes him a happy retirement and thanks him for his many years of service to the town.

Yesterday afternoon, The St Ivean sent an email to St Ives Town Councillor Tim Andrewes (West Cornwall Green Party). asking him to obtain copies of the Council's recent budgets - the just announced charge is above the rate of inflation and the government Council Tax cap of 5%. Two hours later the budget statements were delivered by Tim to The St Ivean's door!

On the other hand, The St Ivean is still awaiting a reply to a query put to a Liberal Democrat member of the Town Council. And that was two years ago. This time, and just this time, that councillor shall remain nameless.

Dawn still too dark

2008-03-17T15:59:00.002Z

The blogger mudhook makes a considered contribution to the migrant worker debate:

Back to the ejection of the migrant workers in Penzance. Penwith council has set out its arguments in a letter to the Cornishman, a local newspaper, and the blog The St Ivean, which first challenged these events, has counter-replied.

I still don’t know clearly what happened, the sequence of events, whether this was the only way as Penwith council suggests, or whether there was a better way as The St Ivean suggests. We need more knowledge to be able to judge. Half a story, which is what we have at present, is not good enough... more

So, where are all the progressives?

2008-03-17T09:46:00.000Z

The eviction of Polish migrant workers from premises in Penzance is one of those issues that tests the mettle of progressives. It concerns matters of fundamental human rights, of decency, of concern and support for the vulnerable, and of solidarity.

For progressive politicians it throws down the gauntlet of the challenge of supporting a cause that is probably a vote loser. So it calls for some political courage.

Which brings us to Mr Andrew George MP and Mr Dick Cole.(The St Ivean will turn to the Labour and Tory parties at a later date). Mr George "believes it is his role to seek out the silent voices." Well, you can't get much more silent than a Polish migrant worker with limited English and being ejected onto the streets of Penzance.

There are three reasons why Mr George might be expected to be championing this cause. As a Liberal/radical/progressive (he has been heard to claim all three descriptions); as a member of a party that believes in the EU and the free movement of workers etc; and as a member of an oppressed minority (his view, not ours). Only two weeks ago he was calling for a Cornwall public holiday.

Which brings us dreckly to Mebyon Kernow's leader, Mr Dick Cole. MK, "is a party of principle, campaigning for a better deal for Cornwall and a fairer, more equitable World." The party exists "to fight for ALL the people of Cornwall". Whether that includes Polish migrant workers in Penzance is doubtful but, if not, surprising for a party carrying the banner of an oppressed minority (again, their view, not ours).

Although, if anyone can show The St Ivean the last time MK had anything to say remotely touching the life of the man or woman on the Penzance omnibus, they will receive as a reward a lifetime's supply of pasties (fanciful constitutional proposals not allowed, but a real bread-and-butter issue like The St Ivean's recent suggestion for discounted fares for people living in Cornwall on income support, is certainly allowed).

Of course, it's always possible that Mr George and Mr Cole have been discreetly doing their bit to represent the migrants. If so, they should share it with us. This is an issue not just for today but for a future when we can expect to have a sizeable minority of migrants living permanently amongst us.

This is an issue both men should be publicly embracing. They should state their position now. The fact that they are not so doing raises serious doubts about their progressive credentials.

Migrant workers: Mr Hampshire has made the case for an independent inquiry

2008-03-15T20:44:00.013Z

Suppose you believe that the house next to yours - perhaps a B&B - is overcrowded and possibly a fire hazard. There's also been noise from the house and some refuse has been dumped outside. So you complain to Penwith District Council. A few days later you are awakened at dawn by a commotion next door and you see council and fire-brigade officers ejecting the holidaymakers with their suitcases onto the street.

Incredible? Yes, until, that is, you replace 'holidaymakers' with 'migrant workers'.

Two days ago, Penwith's Head of housing, health and community safety, Allan Hampshire, in a letter to the Cornishman, replied to The St Ivean's criticism of Operation Westport which in late January/February evicted some Polish migrant workers from premises in Penzance:

1) The letter does not now offer a defence of the appropriateness of the dawn raid to establish the number of tenants.

2) The letter's account of the advice offered to the street homeless migrants is at variance with that given by Katrina Islam, Penwith's housing advice co-ordinator; and what does 'to initiate the accommodation issues' mean in any language?

3) We are told that the property 'was clearly overcrowded under the statutory Housing Health and Safety Rating System' (HHSRS). There is a formal scoring system within HHSRS to calculate hazards. Was this a high-scoring Category 1? Where is the evidence that the Council gave proper consideration - as it should do under HHSRS - to how easy it would be to re-house the displaced occupants?

4) What were the 'substantial failures' under the Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Management Regulations? What were the 'other issues found within the premises'? Why is 'noise and refuse' now being mentioned?

5) We are told that the 'action was proportional to the risk to life' but we are not given the detail of the risk. Presumably we are not just talking about the absence of smoke alarms. Note, also, the absence here or elsewhere in Mr Hampshire's letter of any suggestion that the risk to life was imminent or immediate - the only conditions that could possibly justify peremptory eviction.

6) Why are no clear answers given to questions about Notices and enquiries prior to the raid?

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, The St Ivean has asked the Council for more information about the evictions.

Allan Hampshire tells us that MIGWAG (the Migrant Worker Action Group) first became aware of the property. One of MIGWAG's objectives is the improvement of accommodation for migrant workers. An Audit Commission report cites a case study in Kerrier where an early morning inspection led to improvements being made to the accommodation.

Mr Hampshire is of course right when he says that to place vulnerable migrant workers into unsafe accommodation is wrong. It is equally wrong to eject those same vulnerable workers onto the streets of Penzance on a winter morning. And that is fact not emotion.

We do not expect responsible public officials to use the methods associated with exploitative gangmasters and landlords - the methods Mr Hampshire calls 'robust action'.

The central point is a simple one. Whatever the conditions at a property where there are vulnerable tenants, you do not behave in the way Mr Hampshire and his team behaved.

Allan Hampshire's letter is evasive, sometimes obscure, selective in the questions it chooses to answer and disingenuous. It undermines any confidence the public might still have in the Council's ability to objectively address the real issues. It conclusively makes the case for the need for an independent inquiry.