English Heritage unhappy with Route Partnership scheme
10/3/09In a letter to the Department for Transport regarding the Route Partnership’s plans for Penzance harbour English Heritage have said “it is regrettable that the opportunity has not been taken to reassess the proposals and produce an alternative scheme which is less harmful to the historic environment.”
English Heritage agree with the Route Partnership’s own project Environmental Statement which points out that: “The stonework of the North Arm and South Pier is a distinctive part of the harbour and creates the setting for the entire area. The loss or concealment of part or all of the harbour walls as part of the scheme may be considered to have a large adverse effect on the heritage asset as a whole.”
The Environmental Statement also notes that “most of the structures that make up the harbour complex are listed buildings because they are part of an unusually complete group of harbour structures” and that “as one of the most historically significant parts of Penzance, the Barbican area is particularly sensitive”.
English Heritage go on to say that “it is regrettable that more weight was not given to the historic environment; with the South Pier being almost entirely obscured when viewed from along the coast to the south and from the seaward side”. They further point out that the Route Partnership’s plans “seem to be driven more by technical and engineering requirements, rather than a wider consideration of their visual impact and the resultant harm to the area’s local distinctiveness”.
The Route Partnership has persistently suggested that English Heritage are happy with their scheme; this correspondence suggests otherwise.
Copy of letter from English Nature to the Department for Transport : download pdf | view pdf
Route Partnership Environmental Statement