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Fight for Falmouth Dredging is taken to Downing Street

Truro and Falmouth MP, Sarah Newton, today delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for the dredging of Falmouth Harbour.

The Port of Falmouth Masterplan, which would see a major redevelopment of the Port and bring jobs and investment to Falmouth, requires the dredging of the harbour. This is to allow for large vessels to manoeuvre in the Fal Estuary and therefore be able to access the harbour. Objections have been raised by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) over environmental concerns but the MMO is still in discussions over the license to dredge and have yet to make a final decision.

Sarah was joined by Councillor Geoffrey Evans, Mayor of Falmouth, to present the petition to Number 10. The petition itself contains 1000 signatures of local people who wish for the Government to permit the dredging of the harbour and which would enable the Port Masterplan to finally go ahead.

Speaking after the presentation, Sarah said: “It is vital that a balance is struck between securing the economic prosperity of Falmouth and the protection of the natural environment. The comprehensive and independent work undertaken by environmental protection experts demonstrates that the dredging can be done in an appropriate way.”

Sarah continued: “The UK and EU have strong environmental protection laws since being elected I have worked with the Minister responsible for the MMO and other public bodies to ensure a way forward to both protect the environment and enable the dredging of the channel.”

Councillor Evans added: “The people of Falmouth have made their voices heard and have taken this fight to the very top. I am sure that the Prime Minister and the Government will consider this petition very carefully. It is vital that the dredging gets the green light which will ultimately lead to the future prosperity of our town.”

May 2011