SANCREED PARISH PLAN MARCH 2009 Contents 1. Vision Statement and Introduction 2. Purpose of the Parish Plan 3. The People 4. Traffic and Transport 5. The Environment 6. Community Life 7. Major Concerns 8. Identified Concerns for Action 9. Action Plans 10. What Happens Next Vision Statement A parish with an enhanced sense of awareness, identity and feeling of community. The Parish of Sancreed Sancreed Parish is a beautiful inland rural parish situated in the heart of West Penwith, some three to four miles west of Penzance. The only parish in Penwith that does not border the sea, but of an open aspect with far reaching views over the surrounding countryside, it overlooks both Mounts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond Pendeen. With much of its land falling within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and within an Environmentally Sensitive Area, Sancreed boasts much natural beauty which delights residents and visitors alike. Sancreed possesses three main villages. To one side of the Parish is Newbridge, situated along the A3071 to St Just, and to the other, on the A30 to Lands End, is the smaller village of Drift. Sancreed (Churchtown), with its historic church, is situated in between. The remainder of Sancreed Parish consists of smaller hamlets: Brane, Catchall, Grumbla, Sellan, Tregerest, Tregonebris; outlying farms and open moorland. Being of a rural and widespread nature, Sancreed Parish possesses no defined centre and lacks amenities. Newbridge possesses the only public house, the Fountain Inn. There are garages both at Newbridge and Drift. Methodist Chapels can be found at Drift and Tregerest. At Sancreed are the Church, the Mary Williams Hall and Village Hall. Residents must travel outside the parish to access amenities and services. History The Parish of Sancreed is steeped in history, containing many ancient monuments dating back to the Iron Age. Throughout, there are the remains of ancient castles, chapels, dwellings, barrows and standing stones. Sancreed Church, dedicated to St Credan, was attached to the Manor of Bosvenning, before being transferred to the Church of St James in Bristol in 1182, and was part of the living of the Earl of Gloucester. In more recent times it was connected with Stanhopes Forbes and the Newlyn School of painting. In 1814 the principle villages in the parish were Bejouans, Bosvennen, Botreah, Sellan, Trenuggo and Tregonebris. The main road from St Just to Penzance came over Bosvenning and Roskennals Common, the present Newbridge road being built as a result of the mining at Geevor and Levant. Newbridge and the smaller community of Drift were once thriving villages, self sufficient with shops, chapels, mills, blacksmiths’ and carpenters’ shops, to name but a few. Newbridge also had its own school, post office, restaurant, public house and garage. Of these only the public house and garage remain. The last to go, the Methodist Chapel is in the process of being converted to two dwellings. Sancreed, too, had its own school and public house. Farm land beyond Drift was flooded in 1961 to provide water for the area and make what is now the Drift reservoir. What was a landscape of small family farms remains agricultural, but many of these have now been absorbed or joined together to form fewer but larger farming businesses. Many farm houses and barns are now residential and holiday property conversions. The Purpose of the Parish Plan The purpose of the Sancreed Parish Plan is to set out an achievable and long term vision for the future of Sancreed Parish. Its objectives are drawn from the most important issues identified by residents in the parish appraisal questionnaire and presentation day in Sancreed Village Hall. The Parish Plan identifies respondents’ local needs, providing a working document for all: residents of the parish, the Parish Council, the new Cornwall Council, as well as for other agencies, organisations and individuals with interests in our community. Producing the Plan This parish plan was produced as the result of a group of residents identifying what they saw as the lack of a community feeling within the wider parish and deciding to investigate what should be the way forward. A steering group was set up comprising of residents and members of the Parish Council. Advice was received from the crcc and Penwith District Council. A grant was received from DEFRA, through the Local Area Agreement process, together with a small donation from the Parish Council. A Parish Appraisal Questionnaire was produced, which was delivered by hand to every household in Sancreed Parish, the response rate of which was 59%. Following the analysis of the survey, a presentation day was held in Sancreed Village Hall, when residents were able to make additional comments and suggestions. Members of the Steering Committee Caroline Boulton, Jeff Goodman, Kate Goodman, Barbara Hattam, Graham Hattam, Siggi Hawken, Tony Hole, Gerald Hull, Margaret Hull, Angela Lyle, Ian Smith, Rose Smith, David Tucker. Several other residents helped by delivering questionnaires. The People Sancreed Parish has a population of around 628 (2001 Census). The response rate was 59% of all households. Homes and Housing Of respondents, 42% have lived in the Parish for over 20 years, with 10.5% being resident for over 50 years. 22% are over the age of 65 19% are under the age of 18 81% of responding households stated that they owned their own homes. House prices have prevented some members of households from having their own home within the parish 48% of respondents feel that there is a need for affordable housing in the parish, Newbridge, Drift and Sancreed being the preferred locations. Most respondents feel that any new development should blend in with the surrounding environment, however, because of current planning policy there is no proposed development in Sancreed Parish. Employment Of those who responded, the majority (82%) of residents in employment work in Penzance or West Penwith. Of these, 29% work from home. 39% of respondents are employed full and part time 41% are self employed, full and part time 24% of residents are retired Major areas of employment are: education, health/care, farming, retail, public sector and construction. There is a small light industrial unit at Catchall on the site of the old dairy. There is a fish and shellfish waste storage and processing plant at Newbridge. Some small businesses in the parish are run by non residents. Employment within the parish is mainly agricultural or self employment. Mobile phone/Broadband Reception Mobile phone and broadband reception is problematic in some areas. 31% bad mobile phone reception 35% bad broadband reception • “Non-existent – very hard to run a business without broadband, but we can’t get it!” Traffic and Transport Sancreed Parish is bounded by the A 30 to the south, passing through Drift, and the A 3071 to the north, passing through Newbridge. Sancreed and the remaining hamlets and dwellings are served by a network of narrow country lanes. Whilst residents of Newbridge villages are on regular through bus routes, services to residents of Drift, Grumbla and Sancreed are less frequent due to their more isolated positions. For many dwellings, again owing to their isolated nature, there is no service at all. 2% 9% Regularly Sometimes Never 38% No response 51% Use of Public Transport Consequently, the use of a car is considered a necessity by many residents of the parish. • 69% of workers use a car to get to work 8% use public transport • 70% use a car to get to school 18% use public transport • 91% use a car to access health services 8% use public transport • 92% use a car to undertake grocery shopping 7% use public transport Sancreed’s narrow country lanes, perceived as an asset by many, have their own problems, mainly caused by users who do not respect their nature. Used by families, children, walkers, horse riders and cyclists, besides cars, buses, lorries and agricultural vehicles, the problems of size and speed of vehicles arise. In fact the speeding of vehicles is the concern that unites residents throughout Sancreed Parish. Traffic and Transport cont’ Situated along busy main roads, Newbridge and Drift have additional speeding problems. In both villages, traffic continues to break the 30 mph speed limits, causing a danger to road users and pedestrians alike. In Newbridge, pedestrians risk their lives, when walking through the village, as there are no pavements and lorries rarely slow down. 5% 21% Yes No No response 74% Concerns with Speeding Traffic Identified concerns: • Speeding traffic 74% of respondents were concerned with speeding traffic “Speeding traffic through Newbridge, -Drift, -Sancreed” “ Some tractors go too fast! ” “ Milk tanker, lorries and public cars go too fast!” “Enforce existing speed limits.” • Road safety 58% were concerned with personal safety “All local lanes need low speeds due to narrowness and poor visibility.” “ Pavements where possible!” • Other related concerns: Lack of pavements Size of vehicles Mud on road The Environment Sancreed Parish has a predominantly rural and agricultural landscape, of open fields and moorland with magnificent, far reaching views, crossed by networks of lanes and footpaths and interspersed by small clumps of trees. A large part of the parish is classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Within the parish are Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Areas of Great Archaeological Interest. Sancreed Churchtown is a Conservation Area and several buildings, including the milk stand at Tregerest and the bridge in Newbridge, are listed buildings. Bosvenning and Roskennals Common at Newbridge, and Caer Bran are part of the Heathlands project, where various trial plantings are being carried out. The river, forming the parish boundary between Sancreed and Madron, runs from Newbridge to the reservoir at Drift, which is used for fly fishing.