South West

On the Helford River a row has blown up over the building of a roadway and improved jetty for local fishermen.

Depending on who you are talking to, it is a vital piece of development for the local fishing industry - or a nasty concrete eyesore which should not get past the planning stage.

Some second home owners are opposed to the development as they feel it will spoil the natural beauty of the local shoreline.

However, the local fishing industry says the improvements are needed so they can modernise their business and keep competitive.

The fishing industry's view

At present, equipment and catches from the fishermen are transferred from boat to boat out on the water to bring in to the beach at low tide.

Vehicles then have to be reversed down over the beach to unload the catch from the boats.

Local fisherman Chris Bean.

It's far from an ideal way of working.

Fisherman Chris Bean says this is practically the last site in the country where there are no facilities for fishermen to land their catch.

Nets and fuel have to be taken to and from the boats in the same way and it's heavy and tricky work.

Chris Bean says improvements to the jetty are crucial because around £1m worth of fish is brought in at Helford each year.

Jetty protests

Plans for the jetty had been approved by conservation groups and the District Council.

But they were then halted by a group dominated by second home owners, the 'Helford Village Society', which is opposed to the development as it feels it will damage the natural beauty of the shoreline.

Scenic Helford - under threat?

Inside Out spoke to Nick Jacobs, a Mayfair based asset manager, whose family have had a holiday home in Helford for nearly 30 years.

He's a member of the Helford Village Society and definitely doesn't want to see a concrete jetty, car park or industrial development spoiling the foreshore.

In fact, the local council received nearly 200 letters protesting that the scheme was unworkable and unsightly.

Almost half of the letters came from addresses outside Cornwall.

But Inside Out discovered that several of the letters were sent by people from both their holiday addresses in Helford and from their first homes up country.

Tricky balance

Pam Lyne sits on the local council and has been delivering milk in Helford for 50 years.

Today she has few customers left because there are now so many second homes and holiday lets.

She says the council appreciate the scheme as a sensible solution to the problems of the fishermen who work in the area all the year around.

On the other hand, the changes in local population have enabled Martyn Warner's local restaurant, South Café,to develop an upmarket clientele of wealthy second home owners and well heeled tourists.

Bumper catch - local fishermen.

This is something which would have been unheard of not so long ago.

Martyn is for the jetty scheme.

He feels the quality of local fish he serves will be better for being handled less, coming straight from the boat, and he recognises that it will make life easier and safer for the fishermen.

Fisherman Chris Bean is one of his regular suppliers.

The go ahead for the new jetty scheme now hangs on a judicial review of the Council's planning approval, forced by members of the Helford Village Society.

In the meantime though, Chris will keep bringing in his catch, no matter how tough the task.

Second home owners might find his jetty plans unpalatable but they do love his fish!