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Roger Taylor wades into Helford jetty uproar (From This is The West Country)
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Roger Taylor wades into Helford jetty uproar
8:00am Thursday 22nd January 2009
International superstar Roger Taylor of the rock band Queen has condemned outsiders for putting at risk the livelihoods of fishermen who work in the area where he owns a home, in Helford.
His words come as a BBC1 television programme last night highlighted the difficulties of the fisherman in the village, who want to build a new jetty but have been stopped by second home owners.
As featured in the Packet yesterday, fisherman Chris Bean has been trying for five years to build the jetty in the creek.
Plans for the new jetty and roadway were approved by Kerrier district council almost two years ago to the satisfaction of local conservation bodies.
But it is on hold because members of the Helford Village Society – which is dominated by owners of second homes in the village – have forced a judicial review of the council’s decision. It will cost Kerrier a considerable amount of money to put their case and local council taxpayers will have to foot the bill.
Queen drummer Roger Taylor heard about the fishermen’s plight when he arrived home from a tour in South America to find a letter from the fishermen asking him to support their cause.
He would particularly affected by the planned new jetty as his home is directly opposite, on the other side of the river.
Mr Taylor, who was brought up in nearby Truro and spends a large amount of time at his Helford home and the surrounding area, said: “I lived and grew up in Cornwall and I cannot see one single reason why the jetty should not be built.
“Fishermen work there year round and live there year round and they have a hard life. It is a bit of a joke that they are not allowed it.”
He added that he did not believe the jetty would change the scenery in any way.
“Those guys who live and work there all year round, why shouldn't they have a good old-fashioned jetty? A beautiful old-fashioned granite jetty would make the fishermen's lives a lot easier.
“People who do not live there and do not know the area much should just shut up and get on with their lives,” he said.
Mr Taylor's family moved to Cornwall when he was young and he attended boarding school in Truro.
- Chris Bean and the story of the jetty were featured on BBC1 Inside Out programme yesterday evening. See link below.
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Your Say YourWest Country
sunray, Truro says...
3:20pm Sat 24 Jan 09
Has anyone examined the letters of objection sent by 'The Helford Village Society' to see if a fraud has been committed? Using false names, names of friends, same names, but different adresses etc. all to deliberately mislead the council in order to gain an advantage, would seem to me to be a fraud.
How does one go about getting this examined?
Your sayYour West Country
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HelfordInLondon, says...
4:28pm Fri 23 Jan 09
existing one towards the mouth of the inlet, ie towards the main river from the Shipwrights pub. This actually
goes away from residences not to them. As for the contention about car parking, this is a red herring as vehicles
(a very small van) need to get away asap to customers, as they do at the moment. What the 2nd homeowners
won't tell you, and I have this from the horse's mouth, is their concerns are more to do with being woken early in
the morning by returning boats. (How often a year is that? Mostly they're not even there, so a needless concern
as the fishermen's routines are governed by tide height, therefore return times are variable through 24 hours).
Furthermore, I would guess that a majority of the 2nd homeowners would welcome this new jetty as it would
provide a welcome boat access facility, although they may keep this view private for fear of falling foul of the
aggressive minority. (I'm based in London, but frequently stay with retired parents who are very close to it).