Salcombe Planning Madness

I'm presuming that I am not the only one who has noticed the huge amount of rebuilds going on in Salcombe? Every time you look around a house has disappeared...then slowly a modern architectural wonder/carbuncle (delete as appropriate) appears in it's place. The most astonishing creation to date seems to be the house at the top of Newton Road, what's that all about?

Some are a triumph and sit harmlessly alongside existing buildings, such as the new build at the top of the Yacht Club steps; looks good form the road and looks good from the water. The other house that appears to be fitting in well is the nigh on 6 year build on Allenhayes Road, looks like a couple of semi's, from Devon Road looking up towards the plot the house sits nicely in the gap.

And then we have...the house being built into the hillside below Cliff Road, this may well be an architectural and structural wonder but really...what were the planners thinking...how does that fit in? I hate to think what the final build costs on that will be!

The question that needs to be asked is what policies are the planners following, what guidelines are there to keep in check this modernisation of Salcombe to ensure it is sympathetic and will enable our town to retain its charm and uniqueness whilst ensuring we don't get left behind??

Or does MONEY trump all policy???

Coffee Wars!

I thought this was interesting and potentially very relevant to Salcombe...we have covered this subject before when the business rates rises were talked about...did they ever happen?

Kingsbridge has a Costa and it always seems busy; I suspect tourists and some locals don't give it much thought as they just want a coffee and the continual advertising and hence front of mind presence make it very easy to walk into a "chain" shop as you know what you are going to get; and let's face it some independent coffee shops don't help themselves by serving up very poor quality coffee. Do you risk a poor coffee or just go to a chain??

The Salcombe Coffee Co serves up some very decent stuff, The Winking Prawn is pretty poor on the coffee front but the food and location make up for it, The Wardroom is passable and I haven't tried the Basham's new place as yet...

Lets hope the Salcombe planners don't take the same approach they do to granting planning permission for new builds as these national coffee companies have very deep pockets!

Thanks to BBC News for the report:

"A very British insurrection is under way over plans to bring the first branch of a major coffee chain to a small  Devon town. But why are coffee chains such a battleground? At half nine on a bright morning the aroma of Arabica gently percolates through Totnes's narrow lanes and alleys. That smell of roasting beans is difficult to escape. In this settlement of fewer than 8,000 souls there are 41 different places to buy a hot cup of the stuff.

And yet plans to open just one more coffee outlet have provoked fury - opening up a dispute as bitter as the darkest espresso.

The latest addition to the town's High Street will be a branch of Costa - the first coffee chain to breach the citadel of a community fiercely proud of its independently owned outlets. So far 5,749 people - equivalent to three-quarters of the town's population - have signed an anti-Costa petition and pledged to boycott the new branch. Its approval by South Hams District Council was greeted by a 150-strong group of placard-wielding demonstrators who marched through Totnes's streets in protest.

Though they have no recourse to appeal, the campaigners stubbornly refuse to give in amid apocalyptic warnings that Totnes risks becoming a "clone town". Posters bearing the legend Clonestopping - featuring local baristas posing in the style of the film Trainspotting - adorn windows of homes and commercial premises. A glance at the Yellow Pages might have given the council warning. With names like Totnes People's Cafe, Food For Thought and The Curator Cafe, many of the coffee shops share an aesthetic of nonconformism. Totnes is not exactly typical of a small British town. Like Hebden Bridge or Glastonbury, it has long hosted incomers attracted by its eco-friendly and New Age reputation."

Hello...

Been a long time no post! I'm back to stay this time and would love to get some activity going again on this blog, your comments made it worth blogging (even the abuse)...

Anyway as a first post of the new era I wondered if you had all joined this group on Facebook: Salcombe Old Locals and Yokels...

Also, great feature on Salcombe in Conde Nast Traveller this month as one of the places in the "Best of Britain". It's not online yet but there are other Salcombe articles on the site.