'Natural England' quango respond to their silly behaviour on The Lizard

We have received the following response from Natural England about the upset caused by that unelected Quasi-NGO on the Lizard where their response to the removal of a bench placed there by a local person in memory of her late husband many years ago was unacceptable and resulted in emotional hurt to the bench donor, Mrs Prince. Mrs Prince even offered to pay to put right the damage caused by Natural England and to have a new seat installed.

A concilliatory tone doubtless in view of the mountain of complaints received by Natural England and media coverage of their silliness. You can read about this matter as reported in a local newspaper via this link: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/19039484.natural-england-row-cornwall-coast-path-bench-lizard/

We are currently looking in to the appalling way this same quango handled matters at St Pirans Church on the towans at Perranporth and fact finding in respect of that.

There can be no place for organisations such as Natural England and English Heritage in Cornwall and we call for our own agencies which are more in touch will local feelings, organisations such as the Penwith Heritage Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust, Pendeen Community Heritage Trust, Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network and similar. These latter trusts and groups perform a far superior job, are here in Cornwall and better undertand the views of local people. This idea of being dictated to from afar is no longer acceptable and we demand proper devolution as we are mature enough to handle all such issues right here. There is nothing natural about Natural England nor English Heritage and their cash cow Disneyfication projects as witnessed with our non English and pre England heritage at Tintagel. The only place for them is the other side of the Tamar.

Response from representative of Natural England

1st February 2021

Dear Kernow Matters

Thank you for you correspondence on this matter.

Natural England have prepared a statement which I hope clarifies our position. I also attach a picture of the view from the alternative location.

I do hope we can arrive at a way forward that is acceptable to everyone.

Kind regards

Steve Townsend

Reserve Manager

Lizard National Nature Reserve

Higher Bochym Rural Workshops

Cury Cross Lanes

Helston

Cornwall

TR12 7AZ

01326 240808

07973 542257

Please note I work flexible part-time 25 hours – I am generally available on Mon, Tue or Wed, and Thu

steve.townsend@naturalengland.org.uk

For all things Lizard wildlife related visit www.the-lizard.org

**********************************************

Statement from Natural England

We have received correspondence from a number of local residents regarding the relocation of abench at Crane Ledges near Caerthillian Cove on The Lizard.

Natural England manageshundreds of hectares of internationally important wildlife habitat –coastal grassland and lowland heath -as part of The Lizard National Nature Reserve (NNR).

These areas,including Kennack Sands, Mullion and Predannack Cliffs, Kynance Farm and Goonhilly Downs,are key elements in the fantastic wild open landscapes of The Lizard. It has been Natural England`s approach over the past decade or so to, where possible, remove fixtures and furniture that have reached the end of their life where we consider these out of context with the wild landscape of the Reserve.

Where we can, we replace these with less obtrusive alternatives. For example, we have replaced or moved to more discrete locations fences, interpretation panels, benches and seats, so they are less intrusive to the stunning natural landscape.

The bench that was recently removed at Crane Ledges was paid and cared for by Mrs Prince for many years, in memory of her husband.

We recognise the historic connection Mrs Prince and others have with the spot and the local NNR team have offered the opportunity for a thoughtfully positioned bench built into a Cornish hedge just 50m away.

The spot is directly behind, aboveand overlooking the site of the previous bench and offers the same stunning view.

It is also at a slight remove from the busy thrum of the South West Coast Path offering a calmer location for contemplation. We have extended an invitation to meet and discuss this option with Mrs Prince.

It was never our intention to cause upset, and for that we offer our sincere apologies.

One of Natural England`s key objectivesis to encourage people to appreciate,enjoy,and engage withthe countryside.

We understand the need and benefits of quiet contemplation and to this end,where appropriate,you will find an informal bench here and there, usually tucked away in a Cornish hedge.

We hope a relocated bench will continue to provide Mrs Prince and others a quiet place in keeping with the surrounding natural landscape to rest a while and take pleasure from visiting the Reserve.

We would encourage all our visitors to find their own spots for quiet enjoyment and there are all manner of ledges, perches, boulders and hedges to discover.

Every year on The Lizard we have several requests to site formal memorial benches, which we respectfully have to decline, and direct those people to other conservation and community projects which would benefit from support.