George: St Ives must shape its future, not be pushed around by developers

Open meeting – Fri 24th October, council chamber (upstairs), The Guildhall, St Ives

St Ives MP, Andrew George, will host an open meeting in St Ives this Friday – 24th October 2014 commencing at 6.45 pm – to explore the concerns which local people have raised with him about development pressures in the area.

Mr George will be accompanied at the meeting by the former Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England and a fellow Liberal Democrat colleague in the House of Lords, Baroness Kate Parminter.  Local councillors will attend.  The meeting will be chaired by the new Chair of the St Ives Community Land Trust, Councillor Morag Robertson and Lucy Davis and Councillor Rita Laity will update the meeting on the progress of the St Ives Neighbourhood Plan.

Mr George said, “The planning system is fuelled by greed rather than by need.  The development pressures on West Cornwall, and St Ives in particular, are intense and the planning system cannot cope or withstand the guile and determination of rapacious developers.

“I invited Baroness Parminter to offer her experience and knowledge.  Together we will take messages back to Government Ministers and offer help to those locals who are keen to ensure that the St Ives community can shape the town’s future rather than have the agenda set by developers who are only interested in short term gain.

“This will also be an opportunity to review the progress of the St Ives Neighbourhood Plan, the future ambitions of the local Community Land Trust and also to explore the lessons to be learned from recent controversial planning applications in the St Ives area.”