THE withdrawal of the Weir Quay watersports application was the right decision. It must be a bitter blow for the clubs and nobody is scoffing at the result but it shows that the concept was wrong as it did not have the full support of the local community.

Its cost in terms of unwanted development and lost beauty was far too high. 

As chairman of bereactiongroup I would like to thank the members not only of this group but also the Tamar Preservation Society, the Friends of Weir Quay and Mount Edgecumbe Estate and, of course, the residents of the parish for their combined determination in preserving the beauty of our parish.

It has been a wake-up call to be more organised in preparation for the next assault by what seems like the inevitable tide of development.

It was decided many years ago, quite rightly, to designate and preserve our area and to this end we must always strive to succeed in this aim. The value of our beauty will appreciate as the years go by and unspoilt areas will be unique. For us oldies we know what beauty is but following generations may have nothing but sanitised, urbanised, restricted areas full of rules and no concept of freedom and may never be able to experience an unspoilt area unless we sacrifice and make an effort now.

In the long term the clubs have two more options to pursue, in the meantime they must continue to make the best use of what they have like many other watersports clubs around the South West coast.  

The Bere peninsula is truly a very beautiful parish which offers visitors and residents alike the opportunity to enjoy and use our beauty — but under no circumstances to destroy it!

J W Hillson

Chairman of

bereactiongroup