St Austell

Do we need another supermarket?

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Hands up who likes standing in queues, being barged by trolleys never finding anywhere to park and always trying to find where the sugar has been moved to. I don’t see many hands up.  So maybe we could do with another supermarket?  We are the largest population centre in Cornwall so there are a fair few of us all using the two major supermarkets at any one time. When summer comes round and Cornwall swells up then trying to go shopping is an even worse nightmare, so I certainly think we could do with another supermarket and I have to say I’m pretty glad that it’s Sainsburys; I just find its location a bit odd.  Surely we have enough old industrial land to be able to house a shopping village the size of the one they’re proposing rather than tearing up those lovely fields on the drive out of St Austell?  I’m also not certain why anyone thinks the west of St Austell, where very few people live, is a good idea.  To compound the issue, they are going to build a Waitrose to the east of Truro, again on lovely rolling fields where no one lives.  I’m really not sure how all the people traveling from Threemilestone across Truro or from Par along the bypass to get to these new supermarkets  will help alleviate traffic congestion.  In fact you’d be hard pressed to think of two worse bottle necks in Cornwall.

Clearly the planners are relying on the residents of the hugely under populated Roseland peninsular to plug the gap. Certainly many of the Roseland residents will appreciate having the choice of Waitrose and Sainsburys to go to but I think it’s a bit much to expect them to support two massive hypermarkets.  One can only buy so many pine nuts. 
However, without being silly, St Austell does need more shopping opportunities if the council is to be able to raise revenue and they aren’t going to be able to do that off the back of the White River Centre.  Certainly things are beginning to get better but given its strange layout it was never going to be able to attract a department store and a good shopping centre needs a department store.  Although I’m not impressed with the location, I think somewhere around Penwithick or Eden would make more sense, even Par docks would be a good use of space, I do think we need the shopping village.
Like many of us, I shop in Truro, online, Mevagissey and only very occasionally in St Austell but things are improving in the town.  We just need a few more good places to eat, free parking and independent traders to make the place a second viable alternative to an out of centre shopping zone which is almost certainly going to happen no matter who protests.  My first step to improve the town centre?  Relocate the library into one of the shops. Stop thinking of segregated shopping zones and start thinking about bringing things together. Oh and a tourist information centre in the town centre for heaven’s sake. I wish people would stop telling me why it can’t be done and start thinking about why it should be done. Right best stop before I start ranting but you know I’m right. Don’t you?

Eco town or industrial wilderness?

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Do you remember me saying a few months that if it’s a black and white issue then I would see the grey? Well now I’m seeing Carn Grey and the proposed eco town. This area around Carn Grey and Baal pit is one of my favourite walks with Harry, I’m generally up there every other day and if you’re wondering who I am, then I’m the one standing on my own shouting at the top of my voice “If you don’t get back here, right NOW I’ll turn your ears into mittens!!” Harry will be out of sight somewhere terrorising rabbits and being eternally grateful that his owner never calls him back. – Selective deafness has Harry!

We love this area because it provides so many permutations of walks and a huge sense of space and wilderness. I also love the range of habitats, moorland, heathland, woods, fields, ponds, industrial landscapes and granite outcrops. I love the bizarre turquoise lakes, from some points you can see various lakes all in different shades of blue and green, further adding to the alien landscape. I found out recently that old episodes of Doctor Who were filmed in Baal Pit which seems fitting because whenever I walk over some of the sections I feel like I’m on a Martian territory watching terraforming in process. So much money has been spent on stabilising the landscape and introducing species to start to knit together the clay waste and it’s really working well.

It’s an incredible process, first tiny mosses take hold, with the odd heather and rhodo self seeding, for once a welcome intruder; trees have been planted and whilst the wild deer up there have tried to have a few nibbles they have been mostly foiled by the tree guards. A couple of times these deers have sprung out at me and I’m usually more surprised than them as I was expecting a Harry, not a Bambi. It’s always a thrill to be so close to such a large wild animal.

I know a lot of people see the china clay workings as a horrific scar on the landscape but it seems that the telescope of time has a softening effect, the tin mines are now romantic tourist attractions but I bet at the time they were also seen by many as ugly monstrosities.

I know I’m not the only one up here as I often meet other dog walkers and anglers, walkers, bikers, bird watchers and joggers and during the snows other tobogganists and snow boarders screaming with laughter down the perfect slopes. Throughout the summer shouts of fun drift up from the swimming ponds, and in a different area, cubs and scouts set fire to things because as Arkala says “that’s what boys like to do”

So I find the idea of an eco town tearing up this place something of an irony. Do we really need this massive development? I know we need homes that people can afford to buy and I’d want all new buildings to be as environmental as possible, but I’ve never been able to afford a true eco house. I’m not against building new homes and I’m all for them being as “eco” as possible above and beyond guidelines. But why here? I have fewer objections to the proposed development behind Poltair, the land is stable, it’s closer to town and amenities and is less of a wild space.

I’ve added a few link to walking trails that I’ve done so that you can explore the place for yourself.  I’ll be adding a few more over the next week.

Baal Pit and Carn Grey – the BIG one.
A circular route of martian landscapes and ancient tors. About 1 – 2 hours.