Heliport 'definitely won't be at Land's End'
The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group needs to accept that the proposed new helicopter service to the Isles of Scilly will not operate from Land's End, a Tresco Estate spokesman has said.
Tom Matthews reiterated Penzance Heliport Ltd's position after the Steamship Group stated that Cornwall Council had "withdrawn planning permission" for the facility in Penzance.
Clarifying the situation, he said: "They did not simply withdraw planning permission, Penzance Heliport Ltd and Cornwall Council came to a mutual agreement that the quickest way to avoid the expense to taxpayers and uncertainty for islanders and visitors of a Judicial Review was to accept the judgement, quash everything and put in an amended application.
"The new application will be the original application with a few minor amendments. The judge said that out of all the arguments put forward by the Steamship Group, two or three could be argued in the courts."
Tom said that one of the points the Judge mentioned was whether Cornwall Council had considered the impact of the heliport on the views from St Michael's Mount. "That's the level of detail we're talking about. So the easiest thing to do is tighten up those areas and resubmit. The Steamship Group can put in another application for a Judicial Review later but there will be no cracks they can open. It would be a waste of everyone's time and money."
On the Steamship Group's recent call for a "major consultation" on transport links, Tom said the heliport's backers are "happy to have that discussion".
"These discussions are happening anyway as part of the Islands' Partnership's Destination Management Plan. We're happy to have that consultation, but what we won't do is say that the heliport is not the right idea. We firmly believe it is the right idea.
"This is an opportunity for us all to work together but we've had the Land's End conversation over and over again. We're not going to operate the helicopter at Land's End, it's as simple as that.
"The sooner the Steamship Group accept that, the sooner we can have a situation of healthy competition, the way it was over here for years."