Penzance News

Link between Scillies and Mainland at risk as Council quits and funds lost

The future of the sea link between Penzance and the Scilly Isles is looking bleak after Cornwall Council last night quit the project following the Government's sensational refusal to fund it. In an eagerly anticipated decision handed down yesterday, Transport Minister Norman Baker rejected the £62million upgrade scheme – and issued an unprecedented, scathing criticism of its architects in a letter datred 31 March 2011.

But despite the Minister offering to prioritise a "simpler" resubmission, Graeme Hicks, Cabinet Member for Highways and Planning, said Cornwall Council would be walking away. "This is the end for us. That's it. We have now formally withdrawn from the project. We will be handing this back to the Government. It is not our responsibility, it is theirs, and from now on they must take responsibility."

His words were echoed by Cornwall Council Leader Alec Robertson, who said the decision was a bitter disappointment. "However, the need to maintain a sea link remains and it will now be up to the Government to ensure a solution is delivered".

Mr Hicks rejected the minister's accusations. "Mr Baker has deluded himself if he really thinks we can all sit down and develop another plan. I would suggest his letter is over the top. If he thought this, then why did he grant conditional approval to the scheme last year. He is just making a mockery out of the whole thing. It is ill thought out and unprofessional."

The upgrade is vital to sustain the fragile Scilly community as harbours at both ends require urgent modernisation and the boat linking them is 30 years old.

The scheme would have cost £62 million – with just over half coming from the Department for Transport. Anything going forward now would be without £27 million; £12 million under the EU's Convergence Fund, which will cease shortly, and Cornwall Council's £15 million.

The decision from Mr Baker, delivered in a letter to Mr Hicks, went further than a straightforward refusal and was directly critical of the Cornwall Council-led Route Partnership. Mr Baker said the outlay could not be countenanced at a time of "fiscal stringency." He said there were profound concerns about the costs amid a "very poor appraised value for money" and that what was on the table "goes far beyond what is necessary to maintain services." He added: "We are concerned that the cost of both the boat and the harbour works have risen by 50 per cent since 2007."

In a particularly damning paragraph, Mr Baker said costs had continued to escalate even in the face of a Government edict to bring them down. "We are also bound to observe that, while other local schemes the department has been considering in recent months have been able to be amended by their local authority promoters so as to reduce the call upon departmental funds, here the opposite is just the case. Under these circumstances the level of spending requested on this project, including the construction of a brand new purpose built ship, cannot be justified."

John Maggs, who founded the Friends of Penzance Harbour to fight an aspect of the Route Partnership's plans which would have created a single passenger and freight handling facility in the town, welcomed the decision. He said the scheme could progress without Cornwall Council, but should not. "There are other people involved in this who are behaving in a more mature and thoughtful way. Throwing your toys out of the pram is not very helpful. I do not think Cornwall Council has a right to walk away from this."

The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, which operates lifeline sea links to the islands and had been selected as the preferred operator of the proposed new vessel, said it was keen to explore new options. The company recently unveiled a plan B, which would involve the purchase of two secondhand boats to replace the aging vessels currently plying the route. Andrew May, chairman of the group, said existing services would continue in the meantime.

Mike Hicks, chairman of the Council of the Isles of Scilly said the Government's decision was a body blow to the community. "I am devastated that having come so close to delivering this project, the Government has decided not to support it."

St Ives MP Andrew George, who did not support the Route Partnership scheme, hailed the Government's announcement as "a lifeline for the ferry 'lifeline'." He called on a "coalition of stakeholders" to come together "with a real determination to resolve matters in a calm and rational manner."

Source: "West Briton/Western Morning News"- 1 April 2011