A consultation over the siting of a new landing stage on the West Looe River will be open until tomorrow (November 8).
River Recreation CIC, which is linked to the Looe Boat Owners Association, wants to install a temporary pontoon at the West Quarries site, a little way upriver from the Millpool car park.
The tidal site already has a picnic area and the CIC says that the pontoon will make getting to and from the area safer for those using boats.
The site is located within the Kilminorth Woods Nature Reserve and the proposal has come under much fire from a local group which looks after the woods on behalf of Cornwall Council.
The plan has not received the support of Polperro Community Council either; it says that the priority of local people and the council is to preserve the woods.
And the Looe Marine Conservation Group says that the structure would ‘ruin a natural space which is an important place for wildlife’.
At this stage, Cornwall Council is not asking for comments on the proposal; the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) must decide whether or not to grant a licence for the installation of the structure.
The Environment Agency has stated that it has no objection to the plan, so long as the pontoon is removed from the river between November and March and that the materials used follow its pollution prevention guidelines.
Comments regarding the proposed new landing stage can be submitted to the MMO by visiting www.gov.uk/check-marine-licence-register and using the reference MLA/2018/00195, or by email to [email protected]