The St Austell Bay area has a unique and important industrial past that
should be preserved and celebrated. When
vast swathes of green fields were dug up over the last 250 years, the clay
miners could not have predicted they were in the process of creating a unique environment
that would still be with us in the 21st Century. The Eden Project is a reminder of what is
possible and the potential for more innovative development remains.
The iconic Sky Tip is in the news again and I agree this is an
important reminder of our china clay heritage. I meet regularly with the Imerys
management team and they have consistently assured me they do not intend to
change or remove the Sky Tip in any material way. I am aware a number of local people have
signed a petition to get UNESCO to register the tip as an industrial heritage
site. Whilst it remains to be seen whether this is likely, I certainly will do
all I can to ensure this iconic landmark is preserved for the future.
We are
fortunate to live in an area that has a number of heritage assets. This past
week has been an important week for two other such assets in this area. On
Friday the Department for Communities and Local Government announced the
Coastal Revival Fund Awards for 2015/16.
The Coastal
Revival Fund is designed to kick start the regeneration of at-risk coastal heritage
sites. The St Austell Bay area was
designated as eligible to apply to this fund through its local Coastal
Community Team. The St Austell Bay
Economic Forum applied for, and was confirmed as the Coastal Community Team in
July 2015.
Two bids
were put together in a relatively short space of time and happily both bids
were successful. This was despite
applications to the fund being three times over-subscribed. The Minister for Local Government, Marcus
Jones, wrote to me last week and confirmed that the two applications from this
area were among the 77 successful bids.
St
Austell’s Market House has been granted £49,000 for its renovation and
regeneration. The Market House is a
big part of the town’s history and is a key heritage asset in the center of St
Austell. The project will consider the elements of potential uses and
layouts of the building, community engagement, feasibility scenarios and
sustainable business planning to feed into a larger and very significant
Heritage Lottery Fund application.
Efforts to
preserve and conserve St Blazey Roundhouse and Turntable have been awarded
£50,000. There are plans to revitalise this space as an engineering training
centre and community asset, contributing to the economy of St Blazey and
Cornwall. The roundhouse and turntable
are two of the few intact reminders of the Steam Age in Cornwall, and I think
it is important we preserve this history.
Congratulations to all those behind the two successful bids. This is a
great step forward for these projects and I am glad the Government have
recognised their importance. I look
forward to watching these two projects move forward with this welcome boost in
funding.
