We are pleased to report some progress in our efforts to raise funds to restore the Prince of Wales Pier.

A reminder that the Pier has suffered severe storm damage and is in poor condition. We have commissioned a Structural Engineer whose design to reinforce the existing structure and add a new concrete wall to the seaward faces has now received planning consent. The cost estimate for this work is £1.25 million.

After another winter of storms, it’s not only the Prince of Wales Pier that needs attention. We have noticed a crack forming in the main quay on the west side of the storm gate. Also, the low tide jetty (known as the outer plats) beyond the beach is in urgent need of repairs.

In December we submitted a business case to Cornwall Council for a £1.1 million grant from the Shared Prosperity Fund as a major contribution towards restoration of the Prince of Wales Pier. This has been through 3 reviews with one more to go and we remain hopeful of a positive outcome. Thanks to Armand Toms our acting District Councillor for his support through this activity.

Importantly, if we do get an offer from Cornwall Council it will be conditional on PHT guaranteeing to contribute £50,000 to the project. Another condition would be that the money must be spent before the end of March 2025. For us this effectively means that we would need to complete the work before the end of autumn because it’s too risky trying to do the work during the winter.

So, we don’t have time to raise the £50,000 that Cornwall council requires us to guarantee before they will make an offer (unless someone out there is feeling generous).

The Trustees have decided to commit the funds from our deposit account intended for emergency response and to raise the money to replace this. Doing this will all but wipe out our reserves so it’s really important that we recover the funds. Please see the link to the fundraiser at the end of this note.

We have also held discussions with the Environment Agency and are working with them to raise the £100,000+ needed to get to the target of £1.25m. They have been very helpful, and we are currently working with them to prepare a different business case for this amount.

Our longstanding discussions with South West Water took a positive turn recently. We are now optimistic that we will get a contribution that we will put towards the outer plats work which needs to start as soon as possible and also towards the £50,000 fundraiser.

A big reality check will be when the work is tendered to the specialist contractors. We have decided to include the repairs to the main quay as part of the scope. If we can either raise more money or get some competitive quotes it would be ideal to do this at the same time.

So, the next steps are to conclude the grant applications and to progress with the detailed designs and preparation of contract documents. If all goes well the work will start in the summer.

We need to run another survey of people’s opinions which is a part of the Cornwall Grant process. We will also have an open day at the Harbour office, probably in May for people to see the proposals and make comments.

In the meantime, our priority is to raise PHTs contribution of £50,000. We are hoping that we can support some fund raisers in the village (big thanks to the Plantation Café who have made donations from two of their excellent quiz nights). If you have any ideas for fund raising or can help in any way, please get in touch.

Please take a look at our video and if you can contribute to the appeal the Trustees would be very grateful. 

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https://www.polperroharbourtrust.org

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Kitty's Lobster, Crab & Seafood Shack on the Quay in beautiful Polperro Harbour is having a Grand Opening on Sunday 2nd April 2023, commencing with a guest appearance by some of the Polperro Wreckers at 11.30am, for a good old shanty sing song and the Lord Mayor of Polperro, Phil Thomas will cut the ribbon at 12 noon to officially declare the shop open.

There will be photo ops with our Lobster mascot and a photo competition. Best photo taken of Kitty's Grand Opening on the day, posted & shared on Facebook with Kitty's Lobster, Crab & Seafood Shack being tagged, will win a prize. The winner will be decided by Kitty's Management.

Since the last update in October, we had a very useful meeting with the Environment Agency who are looking into whether they can contribute towards the cost of repairs to the Pier. A reminder that we need to raise £900,000 to do this. Their initial view was it would be difficult due to the amount of money already spent on the Harbour Gate, but they will review their calculations for the gate and assess the issues of the Pier against their funding criteria.

South West Water have advised us that they do not consider themselves responsible for any investment in the Pier. We’ve written to them giving details of the repair works associated with the bulge adjacent to their manhole with the associated costs. We’ve asked them to reconsider their position and contribute their share of the costs. They are currently looking into ways they may be able to help.

It’s clear to the Trustees that we will need to raise the money from different sources. From our contact with Sheryl Murray MP, we’ve been directed to two possible sources of Grant Funding and will submit the initial information by the end of January. We also want to investigate other sources of Grant Funding (E.g., Lottery). We’ve also been proactive in setting up our own go fund me page for direct fundraising, we welcome your donations at: https://gofund.me/9908f84f We are grateful to Karena and Mike from the Plantation Café who raised £100 from a quiz before Christmas.

If anyone has experience of Grant Applications / Fundraising or simply an appetite to get involved, we would very much appreciate the help. Please talk to a Trustee, email us at; polperroharbour@outlook.com or call into the Harbour Office on a Monday morning.

In the meantime, the Civil Engineer has checked the various cracks in the Pier and reported some movement but currently we continue to use the Pier. We are grateful for the supportive comments from the October update and welcome your suggestions and help.

PHT Trustees

Photograph provided by https://www.cornishimagegallery.co.uk/

It was lovely to see Fay Cowan our honorary president visit us, to see Bill’s memorial seat, which is located outside of the Polperro Harbour Heritage Museum. The attached photo is of Fay and her two daughters Debbie and Tina. 

P.H.T. are moving forward with new officers and trustees and are looking to the future. With a new trawler already back in the harbour  and hopefully  two more arriving this coming  winter, fishing is looking on the up. We are pleased to have cleared the top of the fish market, and will offer this space for locals to sell arts and craft products. New lighting along the fish market will be up and running  soon. And with the generous  help of some locals and ourselves a good spruce up of the harbour will be under way shortly.  With these troubling times starting to ease, we look forward to welcoming back visitors to our beautiful  village and its sparkling jewelour harbour

Polperro harbour is normally dredged a couple times a year, this is to remove the build up of sand and setiment that is washed down the valley. this allows boats to work inside the harbour for longer.

The gate is in! It was a stressful morning for everyone involved. 

We are happy to report this month that professional divers have inspected and certified the securing chains to the outer mooring buoys as part of the annual inspection process.

On behalf of all the Polperro Harbour Trustees we would like to thank all who were involved in organising the darts tournament held in memory of Mike Pengelly an amazing £400 was raised and donated to the Harbour Trust, Thank you.

The Prince of Wales Pier was originally constructed in 1860. As the outermost pier in the Harbour, it takes the full force of storms particularly when there is a south-easterly gale blowing. It forms part of the Polperro Conservation Area and is a Listed Building.

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The seaward face of the pier was renovated in the 1990’s although much of the replacement facing has since come adrift due to storm damage. There is also a bulge in the wall adjacent to the South West Water (SWW) manhole.

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The Trustees engaged a Civil Engineer who has extensive experience in Marine structures. His advice is that major repairs are needed. The structure requires considerable reinforcement and concrete facing to the seaward walls. We have progressed this to the design and costings phase. The cost estimate is £900,000 to £1 million. It’s expensive because of the need to work between tides and the cost of getting materials to the site.

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As you probably know the Trust doesn’t get any public funding. Our revenue comes from mooring fees, rents, donation boxes and levies on fish landed. We can cover our operational costs, but we don’t have reserves to fund these types of Capital Projects.

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We have approached the Environment Agency (EA) and SWW with requests for funding. Both have responded to us but to date have not committed any funds. We have contacted Sheryll Murray MP for support, and she has been helpful as have Cornwall County Council and Polperro Community Council.

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Given the current economic climate it feels like we have a challenge to raise the money for the work. We will continue to talk with the various agencies about funding and have started to explore other options (e.g., Lottery, Crowdfunding). Meantime the Structural Engineer has put in place a system to monitor the condition of the pier.

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The purpose of this communication is to advise you of the situation. We will update you as things progress. There will also be an opportunity to share information at the AGM on the 12th November (10am at the Chapel).

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If anyone has experience in fundraising or is feeling very generous, please do get in touch.

It is with deep regret that we advise that our Chairman Mike Pengelly passed away on 17th June. Mike was a Polperro fisherman who loved the harbour and dedicated nearly 40 years service as a Trustee. We will miss his knowledge, guidance and sense of humour.

The Harbour Trust announces new mooring fees for 2020.

See announcement detail

See Prices 

The outer Platt has had some much needed restoration. Making it safer for holiday makers to board tripping boats.

Our thanks to Trustee and contractor Roger Puckey and his team. Ably supported by our ever present Harbour Master Olly and his boat Smuggler.

We have had a visitor from landing barge 'MTS Terramare' which brought in a clear flow lorry. Along with South west water and the environment agency they cleared a good amount out and are due back next year. 

This month we have been replacing the ladders to the fish market quay and old quay. The ladders have been Supplied by F J Ede & sons and installed by Ede's and some of the Harbour Trustees.

During February we have been busy down on the harbour tidying up the Quay. And are pleased to have worked with www.odysseyinnovation.com who are a specialist marine waste management company who pioneered the UK’s Net Regeneration Scheme. I'm sure you will all agree that it is great to see the old nets go off to be created into something new. 

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This year’s AGM will be held at Polperro Chapel on Saturday 12th November 2022 commencing 10am. All are welcome.

Trustees
If anyone is interested in becoming a Trustee please email polperroharbour@outlook.com , phone 01503 272423 or call into the Harbour Office on Monday or Wednesday mornings (9-10.15) for an application pack. 

We would particularly welcome applications from persons with IT knowledge and/or fundraising experience. Please note that the closing date for all applications is 31st October 2022. 

Professional Divers from Fowey inspected the main chains for the outer moorings , replaced the riser chains and fitted new buoys where needed. Our thanks to the Fowey Commissioners for their support in organising this important activity . 

The Harbour Trust was pleased  to host a visit from members of the team from Padstow with a view to exploring potential collaboration between the National Hatchery and those with a an interest in supporting fishing activities out of the harbour. Team members David Lockyer COO and Ben Marshall Visitor Experience and Hatchery Supervisor were taken on a tour of the harbour and village and met local fishermen, trustees, PHT  chairman and our harbour master to discuss challenges for the fishing industry and potential future collaboration.

Our Trustee Ed Gilbert and his family carrying out their annual clean and repaint of the 118 year old lighthouse