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Peter Bainbridge
Principal Development Officer
Economic Growth and Development
Cornwall Council
First Floor, Dolcoath Av,
Camborne, TR14 8SX

18thApril2019

Dear Mr Bainbridge,

Proposed development NORTH QUAY, HAYLE, ref: PA18/04577, Application for approval of reserved matters (access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale) pursuant to outline permission PA13/01370 for 175 residential units, 2,235sqm of retail (Class A1-A5) floorspace, 483sqm of business (Class B1) floorspace and 344sqm of floorspace for industrial, FQ and fish storage (Class B2 and B8), including access, parking and public open space.|Hayle Harbour North Quay Hayle Cornwall TR27 4BL

ICOMOS-UK would like to comment on the potential impact of the proposed development (PA18/04577) at NorthQuay on the contributionHayle Harbour makes to the Cornwall and West Devon Mining LandscapeWorld Heritage Site (WHS).

ICOMOS-UK is the UK National Committee of ICOMOS, which has a special role as the official adviser to UNESCO on cultural World Heritage Sites.  ICOMOS-UK plays a leading role in helping to implement the 1972 World Heritage Convention (the Convention) within the UK and promoting best practice in the management of UK WHSs. The maintenance ofthe Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the UK WHSs and their settings is a key objective.

We are concerned that the development proposed at North Quay on the boundary of the WHSmay impact on its immediate setting. This impact could be exacerbated byany future build behind the proposed development site.In our view the ‘dramatic open estuarine setting’ of Hayle Harbour as described at the time of inscriptionas a WHS, has the potential to be compromised by any new development near the water’s edge which could limit the understanding of the harbour and its historic significance.

As you know, successive proposed developments at Hayle Harbour have been considered by the World Heritage Committee since inscription of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

on the World Heritage List. It may be thatthe conflicts between conservation and development at Hayle have yet to be adequately resolved, in part perhaps due the absence of a buffer zone.However, the currently proposed development raises the question as to whether there is a ‘comprehensive mechanism of conservation’ to protect the WHS and its setting from large scale development and whether sufficient policies to support such a mechanism are being implemented. It is our view that in terms of Hayle,development should respect the need for Hayle to reflect its former role as the main port for the Cornish mining industry and not overwhelm what remains fromthat era.

ICOMOS-UK has never been against development at North Quay. In 2008 we were invited to undertake a site visit to Hayle to discuss proposed development related to South Quay, North Quay and East Quay. We then considered that new developmentshould read as urban buildings tightly meshed with the landscape but not be assertive. We also considered that the buildings needed to be seen against a backdrop of the dunes and sufficiently far back form the water’s edge to allow an understanding of the quay and its former functions. Whilst we understand that the current plans have been subject to refinement, we would question whether the current mass and density of the proposed buildings meetsthose parameters.

What is needed at North Quay is sustainable development that provides resources for the local community as well as for visitors, is subservient to its surroundings and enhances the very specific and distinctive contribution that Hayle makes to the overall WorldHeritage serial Site. We would therefore encourage the Planning Authority to consider, when determining this application, whether the current proposal is in accord with World Heritage Outstanding Universal Value and the aspirations of the local community.Yours sincerelyPeter MarsdenChair, ICOMOS-UK World Heritage Committee
 

Yours sincerely

Peter Marsden

Chair, ICOMOS-UK World Heritage Committee

via http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/files/4915011754389B...