All there is to know about Davidstow
As mentioned at the recent meeting of Davidstow Parish Council, Lightsource BP have made a request for a screening opinion pursuant to the Town and Country (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 for a 5MW solar farm at Dairy Crest, Blacka Lane, Davidstow, Camelford PL32 9XW.
The proposed solar farm will occupy two separate fields, both forming part of the Dairy Crest holding and are located in its immediate context.
I attended the meeting of Davidstow Parish Council in Tremail Methodist Hall yesterday, where much discussion took place regarding the plans by Dairy Crest to invest £85£75 million in their creamery at the top of the hill. The odours apparently still emanating from the Dairy Crest water treatment plant also got a good airing!
The Chairman of the Parish Council mentioned that there had been a meeting of the Davidstow Residents Action Group (DRAG) on August 2nd to discuss that issue:
Scott Mann, the M.P. for North Cornwall, had been in attendance, but the Environment Agency and our local County Councillor Rob Rotchell had not.
A resident of Trewassa reported that due to the easterly winds over the preceding weekend the smell had been “awful” on that side of the plant. The chairman said that Dairy Crest had attempted to implement “6 solutions that haven’t worked” and reported that the Environment Agency had given Dairy Crest 6 weeks to provide an explanation for the latest odious odours.
Getting back to Dairy Crest’s expansion plans, Reuters reported back in May that:
The company said it would expand its cheese production facility at Davidstow, in southwest England to 77,000 tonnes from 54,000 tonnes a year by raising cash through a share placement.
It would place 14.1 million ordinary shares, or about 9.98 percent of current issued shares, at a price of 495 pence per share.
The cost of the expansion is expected to be 85 million pounds and will be carried out over the next four to five years, Dairy Crest said.
Dairy Crest have employed the services of St. Austell based consultancy Situ8 to handle the planning issues associated with the expansion. Situ8’s Angela Warwick was at the meeting, and she explained that whilst plans for upgrades to the creamery itself were well advanced nothing could be implemented until the waste water treatment plant was upgraded and the current issues solved. Plans for that are less advanced it seems.
In addition there are also plans to construct a solar photovoltaic “farm” near the “cheese factory” as it is frequently referred to locally. There will be a consultation with Dairy Crest in Camelford on September 21st to discuss all this in greater detail.
Watch this space for more news as and when we receive it!
I received the following letter in today’s post. It seems Reuters neglected to mention that “£75 million of which will be spent in Davidstow” regarding the planned investment by Dairy Crest.
Dear Mr Hunt,
I am writing with reference to two matters – firstly to update you on works to alleviate the odour emissions and secondly with regard to our planned investment at Davidstow.
As you know, permanent covers were fitted to two of the tanks at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at the beginning of this year. The initial results following the installation were good, indicating a substantial reduction in odours, as we had expected. Since then, we have had some further challenges due to the build-up of sludge in one of the covered tanks. lt has taken some time to safely remove this accumulation but the works have now been completed. Additional work is now being undertaken with an external consultant to check what further improvements can be made.
I am also writing to you about our recent announcement to undertake an £85 million investment to increase our cheese production capacity and improve our environmental credentials, £75 million of which will be spent in Davidstow.
This is a long term project which is expected to take place over the course of the next four to five years and will involve a small amount of additional construction on the site. A major part of this project is to make further investment in the WWTP to improve its efficacy and minimise the potential for it to impact on you, our neighbours. We will be installing new equipment, inside a process building, which will reduce the load on the current plant and thereby the potential for odour issues to occur. We also intend to develop a solar installation to generate electricity for our own consumption, thereby reducing the load on the local grid as well as reducing the site’s carbon footprint.
This investment is also good news for our 330 supplying dairy farmers, all of whom are in Devon and Comwall, and our 200 employees at Davidstow. Our existing farmers will be able to invest in their businesses and it will secure jobs at the creamery, thereby having a positive impact on economic activity in the region.
Please find enclosed an invitation to a public consultation regarding our intention to submit an application for planning permission for these projects. This will take place on Friday, 21 September from 4pm to 7.30pm at Camelford Hall, Clease Road, Camelford PL32 9QX.
We would encourage you to come to this event so that you can learn more about the proposals directly from us and so that we can answer any questions you may have. All the feedback we gather will be used to inform the planning proposals.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Evans
Site Director, Davidstow Creamery
On one of my regular cycling routes through Trevivian I spotted this notice:
which mentions that:
The development, in the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, is likely to affect the setting, character or appearance of a Listed Building.
The associated planning application refers to an:
Amended scheme to that approved under PA12/00921 for the Change of Use of two barns to a dwelling, following demolition of existing agricultural buildings, together with the creation of an access at Middle Trevivian, St Clether, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 8PS.
Cornwall Council planning department would seem to be concerned about the proposal adversely affecting the setting of Trevivian Farmhouse, listed in Historic England as follows:
Farmhouse. Circa early C19. Stone rubble, slate hung on front elevation. Slate roof with gable ends, range on left reslated in circa 1980s and lower range on right with rag slate roof. Brick end stacks.
Heading for the post box in Tremail I spotted yet another “cherry picker”:
I feared the worst, since the last time such equipment was deployed in the vicinity Western Power cut off our electricity. Without telling us in advance. Twice!
Peering around the corner nobody could be seen working on the local substation, which was certainly a comfort in all the circumstances:
However a figure up a pole was visible in the distance. This proved to be an OpenReach engineer moving our telephone cables onto the new poles recently erected by Western Power:
I was assured this would take place without cutting anybody off!
Planning permission is being sought for the change of use from a Former Laundry Room to Holiday Accommodation including a single storey extension and an increase in height of the roof at Vicarage Hill, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall:
Outline planning permission with all matters reserved has been granted with conditions for a single residential dwelling at Myrica, Tremail, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall PL32 9YQ:
Planning permission has been granted with conditions for a “New detached dwelling with garage block on Land North Of The Cottage, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall PL32 9YQ”:
Midsummer Eve sunset near Tintagel:
Midsummer Morning sunrise above Tremail:
Planning permission is being sought for a two storey extension to provide a new kitchen/dining room with bedroom over at Cleveland House, Hallworthy, Camelford PL32 9SH:
I wondered why this mysterious construction had suddenly appeared at the edge of the airfield:
The next day I discovered the answer. The road was blocked. Men sporting walkie talkies were everywhere. I wasn’t allowed to follow my usual route across the airfield.
The standing “stones” are merely a prop for the filming of “The Kid Who Would Be King“!