THE letter of the week (Cornish Times, 26.09.08), headlined Beautiful area now rubbish tip, which referred to Polperro Harbour, although having some justification was a terrible exaggeration, so much so that I am compelled to provide an answer.
The piles of carpet referred to were old carpets placed over crates of trawl nets to protect them from sunlight damage. Not, I agree, very attractive and they were replaced by a new tarpaulin cover previous to the publication of your letter.
The dumpy bags, in question, are ton bags of aggregates, ready to be used for the footings of new ladders to be installed along the main quay. Unfortunately there is nowhere out of sight to hide them.
The blue skip, mentioned by J Hunt, I can't comment on because there has not been a skip of any description on the harbour. Visitors, unfortunately, are inclined to deposit their rubbish in any likely receptacle and they seem to find net bins highly suitable. Once someone dumps a takeaway cup or chip wrapper in a bin many more will follow.
Your writer should appreciate that Polperro Harbour is a working fishing port.
These days, boats have to use considerable amounts of fishing gear to stay ahead of the game, make a living and keep Polperro alive as a working port. They have to change the nets they use several times a year and these nets have to be hauled onto the quay before space can be found to store them.
Also we have constraints of space, the harbour is quite small and there is not a separate compound to store nets which are not in current use.
It is sometimes difficult to strike a balance between being a working port and keeping the harbour open for the public. Visitors are, however, enchanted by the harbour, by the beauty of the place, by the boats, by the atmosphere and by the friendly attitude of the local people on the harbour who ware quite happy to talk to them and answer their questions.
Your correspondent would have done well to have asked one or two questions and, thereby, better informed herself. Perhaps then, in the balance, she wouldn't have felt the need to write the letter.
I believe the views of your writer are an exception. I know from talking to people, who visit Polperro from all over the world, that her impression is not the general one. Visitors donate a surprising amount of money to help maintain the harbour. I don't think they would donate to the upkeep of a rubbish tip.
CHRIS SARGENT
Chairman,
Polperro Harbour Trust