Library photo competition

A Photo 2000 competition run by Torpoint Library has been won by Jim Ryall. The runners-up were John Cameron, Chris Hanning and John Sailsbury.

The library held the photographic competition to mark the start of the new Millennium and the main prize was a digital camera worth over £160.

Lynne Kershaw, the stock officer for the library, organised the contest which was sponsored by Top Foto at Liskeard and Life Style Pharmacy in Torpoint.

Band concert

The Band of HM Royal Marines Plymouth will be giving a concert in the Church of St Paul at HMS Raleigh, Torpoint, on Wednesday, March 22. The band will be under the direction of Major Barrie Mills.

Seaton inquiry

A public inquiry following a refusal by Caradon council of planning permission for a proposal for land adjoining Mount Brioni, Looe Hill, Seaton, is to be held in May.

An appeal was made by Mr and Mrs M Davies after planning permission was turned down, and the resulting inquiry will take place on May 3 at l0am at a venue yet to be determined.

Appeal lodged

An appeal has been made following the refusal by Caradon council of a plan for a site at Spindrift, Top Road, Downderry.

The appeal has been lodged by Mr R C Sweeting and will be dealt with by the written representation method.

Works needed to safeguard cottages

Caradon members have been told that the council needs to carry out extensive works to the cliff edge at the bottom of gardens serving a row of local cottages within the next two years.

The councillors heard that works need to take place within this period if the council properties at Nos l-8 Coastguard Cottages are to be safeguarded against collapse. The estimated cost is £93,000.

In a report to the housing and property committee councillors said they would be looking into the possibility of obtaining grants for funding the repairs from MAFF, which can be up to 55 per cent of the cost if approved, and also from the council's environmental services budget which has carried forward funds for coastal protection works from last year's allocation.

The council also needs to install new sewage treatment systems in a number of council dwellings which are not connected to an adopted public sewer and have foul drainage which mainly discharges into septic tanks. Where practicable this effluent then discharges into rivers.

Councillors have heard that the quality of effluent from some of these systems no longer meets standards required by the Environment Agency, which is responsible for ensuring that rivers are not polluted. Failure to meet the required standards will result in the Agency taking legal action against Caradon, prohibiting discharging into the rivers.

Renewal of defective iron water service pipes has also been on the council's agenda. Investigations have been carried out by the council in conjunction with South West Water, and these have identified that some of the iron water services laid on council estates built in the l940s and 50s are now deteriorating badly and require renewal. Some of the pipes serving these estates are laid in gardens and/or unadopted areas and therefore are the responsibility of Caradon rather than SWW.

RNLI evening

There was a successful wine and cheese party held by the Rame Peninsula RNLI branch on Thursday February 17 in the community hall, Kingsand.

One of the specialities of the evening was the gourmet raffle, thanks to the generosity of many in the area, ranging from cases of wine, smoked salmon, chocolates and other delicious items for which each person received two free draw tickets to start the evening.

The chairman, Mrs Janet Allom, said that this small branch has, so far this year, raised over £10,000 for the lifeboat service and appealed for more volunteers to join the committee in their dedicated work for the lifeboat crews. Anyone wishing to help with collections for forthcoming events should contact Mrs Allom on 01752 822356 to give a little time to this worthwhile cause.

Mr Derek Studden, mechanic of the Plymouth lifeboat, was a guest of the branch to present the RNLI's bronze medal to Mike Davis for his service to the RNLI both on the Rame committee, and his many years service as Hon. Treasurer of the branch.

The evening raised in excess of £350 for the lifeboat service.

Wall appeal is dismissed

An appeal regarding an application to retain a boundary wall with additional render finish has been dismissed by a government inspector.

The appeal, by Mr P G E Bishop, followed a refusal by Caradon council to grant planning permission for the boundary wall at 11 Sycamore Drive, Torpoint.

The inspector has said there were two main issues in the appeal - whether retention of the wall would be harmful to the safety of pedestrians, and the impact of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area.

The appeal heard that the original honeycombed wall on the appeal site was in a dangerous condition and has now been demolished. The disputed wall was some l.7m-1.9m high and situated right up to the pavement's edge.

The inspector felt the wall would be dangerous regarding its position, but believed the materials used would not be sufficiently out of keeping to justify dismissing the appeal on this ground alone. However, his conclusion in respect of the second main issue did not overcome his fundamental concerns 'regarding the safety of pedestrians, and particularly children, at this cul-de-sac location'.

Clinic at the centre

The next hearing concern advice clinic will be held at the community heath centre on Friday March 10 from 9.30am until 12 noon, followed by a further clinic at Tamara Torpoint day centre on March 17 from 10am until 12 noon. There will be no further clinics at Tamara until further notice.

There will be a social meeting for the the Friendly Hearing impaired Club on March 10 at the Naval Families Centre, Trevorder Road, Torpoint starting at about 1.30pm. The guest speaker will be Mervyn Davey from the social services sensory loss team, talking about what will be happening in the future.

The Tinnitus support group has been put into hibernation, until such time as there is a demand for the group to be reformed.

For further details on any of these groups and to discuss any problems relating to tinnitus contact Jacqui Dore, Hearing Concern Advisor on 01752 813722 or 07974 423398.