From The Cornishman Thursday, 18 November 2010

Harbour owners reduce number of homes for quay

HAYLE harbour owners have confirmed they will be submitting their long-awaited plans for a multi-million pound mixed development scheme on South Quay on December 2.

Dutch real estate giant ING, which is one of the four developers eyeing up a site for a food store in the town, has been revising its plans since its three-day public consultation held in September.

They say that in response to feedback and to create more open space the number of homes has been reduced further.

Spokesman Gary Cartmell believes the newly tweaked scheme, which will see the number of homes reduced from 97 to 64, addresses all the concerns raised by residents.

"One of the key messages that came out from consultation was to reduce the density and create more open space on the tip at South Quay," he explained.

"The proposed food store is the financial driver here which would allow us to regenerate the area in the way people want us to regenerate it."

The scheme still comprises a mixture of flats and town houses, a supermarket, restaurant, café and a cinema.

The reduction of residential units has been taken from the tip of the quay to create more open space and enhance sea views.

The original scheme entailed a dense housing development of 270 flats with some retail space on the ground floor.

The feedback box from the three-day harbour regeneration consultation will be opened next week. It has been kept at Hayle Police Station for safekeeping to ensure impartiality, ING said.

Meanwhile Hayle Residents Association has solicited local opinion on the four supermarket proposals from ING, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's.

They say they have received 767 responses and according to this, the proposal for the Jewson site is the preferred option.

This was closely followed by Asda at the Memorial Park rugby ground with 37 per cent, Sainsbury's at Marsh Lane with 16 per cent and ING's South Quay with four per cent.