


an outpost for John Eldridge
A proposal has been submitted to Cornwall Council to install a surface water outfall pipe with trenching works at Booby's Bay, near St Merryn.
The application has been submitted by multi-millionaire entrepreneur Simon Nixon, the founder of moneysupermarket.com.
In 2009 planning permission was granted for a three-storey house at Little Polgarron, which includes a lower floor consisting of bedrooms and a leisure wing, which will be sunk underground. Since then site investigation work has shown that the high water table on the site could put the property at risk of flooding so the applicant has been forced to submit a second application for the proposed outfall.
Outrage
The pipe would run from the property to cliffs overlooking the beach at Booby's Bay – and has caused outrage among residents. Already more than 200 letters of objection have been sent to the council and a group has been set up on the social networking site Facebook called 'Booby's Bay drainage application', which already has more than 1,000 members.
People are concerned that the pipe would not only damage the surrounding area but the contents could also affect the beach and the water quality.
Brothers John and Benjie Eldridge and Nathan Bennetts started the Facebook page, Benjie said: "The main reasons for us objecting so heavily is because recently Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have come under attack from developers in the area and we can't let this continue.
"The people want to protect our coastline and it is a valuable asset to both the our community and economy, and should not under any circumstances be vandalised by development.
"The application states 'surface water' but does not state the meaning of surface water and to what depth it refers to. Digging down past the water table, adding sewage and household drainage is not surface water.
"We believe a proper environmental investigation is required to determine the effects of lowering the water table. This should have been done by the architects before planning was applied for. We believe the application has tried to avoid the public eye by misleading them with the information supplied."
Noon Projects, on behalf on Mr Nixon, released a statement saying: "This proposed outfall is to redirect the naturally occurring groundwater only and to balance out the seasonal variations that occur to the levels of this water within the development area of the site.
"All water discharged from the property, including toilets, showers, sinks and the natural water swimming pool, will run through our onsite treatment plant before finally passing through an ultraviolet treatment chamber. From here the water is allowed to discharge into the ground through a designed soakaway. The efficiency of the proposed treatment plant and the final standard of water discharged from the ultraviolet chamber will exceed current environmental standards and is of a higher quality than most developments."
Boobies Bay private property drainage pipe application
email your objections here: planning.east1@cornwall.gov.uk
quoting planning application no. 2009/01754
before 4th Feb
or object online here
The very application summary is entirely misleading. The Application proposal reads 'Provision of a surface water outfall pipe with trenching works and ground surface reinstated'. The proposed pipe will be at its highest level deeper than 3.5m. This is below the water table and so will be a ground water drainage pipe, not a surface water drainage pipe. This is a discgrace and for this reason alone the planning permission should not go ahead.
This area of land is known to be very saturated and to have a high water table. The depth of the proposed drainage pipe for the Little Polgarron at Boobys Baywill start at the bottom layer of the house foundations which is at a depth of approximately 3.5m. This is far below the water table level and so will consequenty be a constant outlet to drain the water table. The pipe will effectively end up as a sump for the entire local water table and consequently will be constantly pumping out the a vast amount of water, water which naturally belongs in the ground acting as the water table. This amount of water flowing out onto the beach will have a huge affect on the local ecosystem.
It appears that this pipe is solely for the purpose of lowering the water table for the construction of the underground parking and swimming pool. This should in no way be allowed. It seems that this is a major error on behalf of the building constructors and planners. They did not take into account at the time of planning the high level of the water table and so this new application is a cover up of this fact and should be held in as high regard as did the original planning application. The property needs to be redisgned so that the water table can stay at its natural level.
All discharge from property including toilets, showers, sinks and swimming pool will end up going through this pipe and onto the beach as the pipe is at a level deeper than that of the natural water table which is where the discharge will naturally end up. This will result to a degree in local pollution.
This ground water drainage pipe will have numerous negative impacts on the local area within many different contexts including local hydrogeology and ecosystems. It will also have a great effect on the local beach, the amount of outflow from the pipe due to its nature of being below the water table will have a great effect on the local beaches sand movement and rock pools. The local beach users will also be affected by the outflow of the pipe and also its disposition in the rockface: it will be considered unsightly in an area of outsanding natural beauty.Boobies bay is regarded one of the few beaches in Cornwall to be left mostly untouched by development. This property can be redesigned in a much more understated fashion so as to have a lesser impact on the local environment. Installing this water table drainage pipe should not be considered an option.
If this application receives consent it will set a precedent for others to go ahead. This should not be allowed.
With all of these points in mind I urge you to decline the application.


