THE Friends of Weir Quay oppose the planning application for a water sports centre to be sited on land adjacent to the electricity pylon at Weir Quay.

The Friends of Weir Quay was formed to protect Weir Quay from inappropriate development and as such we would like to voice our opposition to the above planning application. In a recent survey of members, 77% said they were opposed to any development. Overwhelmingly the reason given was that such a special place should be saved for the enjoyment of local people and visitors alike.

There has also been much misinformation surrounding the project; for example, in the Times (August 18), a representative of the sailing and gig clubs, who contributed to the article, was less than accurate in his recollection of events; therefore we would like to put the record straight. It was stated that members of the public were kept informed about the proposed development by means of consultative events. This is not strictly true, at the first public event last November nobody had actually seen the proposals prior to the meeting. The Friends of Weir Quay had been promised there would be a question and answer session at the end of the meeting, this did not happen.

At the second recent meeting, completely new proposals were presented which had only been made public on the West Devon Borough Council website two days prior to the meeting, giving little or no time for the plans to be studied, therefore denying the opportunity for those present to ask meaningful or searching questions. Further, the plans were very technical and not easy for the layman to understand, and bore little similarity to those presented at the earlier event.

The plans were also incomplete; your correspondent stated that there was an intention to build a club house with toilet facilities. Although the site was indicated on the plans, it appears that this will be the subject of a further planning application some time later. Surely, such an important addition to the site should have formed part of the initial planning application, so that the project could be considered in its entirety; rather than as a number of unrelated phases? As the club house will be some time in the future, there seems to be no provision for siting a toilet block for phases one, surely this is an important omission?

Considering the likely size and impact of the development on the Bere Ferrers Parish, we are surprised that the Bere Ferrers Parish Council only decided to call a parish meeting to discuss the matter one day before the final cut off day for objections.

The Friends of Weir Quay believe that should this project receive planning permission it will spell the end of this peaceful and lovely place to the detriment of all.

Tom Young

Clamoak Farm

Bere Alston

IN response to your front page article (August 18): As a long-standing (30 years) member of Weir Quay Sailing Club I would bring your attention to the following:

It is not a £400,000 project! The budget will be more like £170,000, including purchase of the land — and already over £40,000 has been raised from club members and grants from the AONB, West Devon Borough Council, Devon County Council,  the Dulverton Trust, the Tavy Tars, Tavy and Tamar Apple Group, the Bere Ukes, Bere Ferrers Saturday Shop, and Babcock Ltd amongst others.  It is clear from this that the project clearly has considerable local support, despite the NIMBYism of the 'Friends of Weir Quay'.

It is not a major 'over- ambitious' development — it is a replacement for the facilities that are now only available short-term, the boat park will cover approximately the same area as the current boat parking areas.

There is no clubhouse included in the application. That is to be the subject of a separate subsequent application, when the precise needs can be better assessed, and local people consulted over the design, size etc.

The site will only be able to store the same number of dinghies, tenders and gigs as are used by the clubs now — there is no scope for expansion, and so no increase in traffic to and from the site.

If this does not go ahead, the 25 privately owned dinghies and 15 or so club dinghies, and the gigs, would need to be brought in by road every time they were sailed – now that would cause traffic problems!

Yes, there are heavy metals in the soils, but they are at levels that have been shown by an expert's report to be low levels, such that they pose no significant risk to health for the site users or local residents

The landscape above the new boat park will be changed slightly, but the new contours and hedges will blend into the existing surroundings, and the car park areas will be screened by mounds and shrub planting.

The buildings are of a simple 'agricultural' design, suitable to a sensitive rural area and the high roadside hedge and bank will prevent views of the buildings from the road. 

The restoration and landscape plans include the creation of a new Devon bank and hedge, tree planting, an extensive wildflower meadow, and areas of native flowering shrubs.  The overall effect of these would be a positive gain for local wildlife.

Finally — there is no alternative.  If this project fails, it will mean the end of community watersports at Weir Quay, something that has been part of the life of the river there for over forty years.

Ian Brooks

Minster

Whitchurch