G7 Summit - Carbis Bay, Cornwall - 11th to 13th June, 2021

On the 23rd January, 2021, the Westminster Government announced that the G7 Summit would be held in Carbis Bay, Cornwall from the 11th to 13th June, 2021 and an official 'News story' was published by the government.

Link to official news release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-host-g7-summit-in-cornwall

As well as the usual G7 countries, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA, representatives of the EU, Australia, India and South Korea are also invited. 

There was much excitement following the announcement and local as well as UK politicians seized on the event as a way of promoting Cornwall and a news hungry press assisted them in spreading the announcement. 

No show without punch though and almost immediately, 'Visit Cornwall', Cornwall's privatised and members only tourist promotion company heralded the news and proclaimed that £50 million would be added to the local economy as a result. 

Of course, if one were to believe 'Visit Cornwall' and its media releases, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that tourism was all Cornwall had to offer and that the entire resident workforce was dependent on it. This is far from the truth of course but why let the real facts get in the way of a good story?

The two hotels at Carbis Bay to be used to host the G7 Summit are the Tregenna Castle Hotel and the Carbis Bay Hotel with the latter actually on the beachside. The media 'army' are to be accommodated in Falmouth.

Many locals instantly saw through the constant stream of news stories and realised that following on from the nightmarish tourist season of 2020 when once again, Cornwall became a 'no go zone' for locals with towns and villages packed with holiday makers all ignoring the Covid rules and roads at a standstill, 2021 was looking increasingly grim.

During 2020, locals endured record levels of abuse from the money laden tourists and some were even assaulted and threatened by holiday makers who asserted their self entitlement to a holiday.

Sadly, local fears have now been confirmed as the Carbis Bay Hotel commenced destruction of adjoining maritime woodland as part of an ambitious expansion plan ahead of the summit. The surprising thing was that no planning permission was in place to allow for the enormous environmental destruction caused and despite Cornwall Council sending in a planning enforcement team, the work continues unabated.

A huge outcry ensued and the Cornwall Councillor for the area as well as the MP, both Conservatives, attempted to assuage local protest by issuing a number of releases containing soothing words.

The ongoing damage was widely condemned by a number of groups and a local campaign established to fight the unbelievable ecocide.

Devon & Cornwall Police were called in by which time many of the corpses of dead animals fleeing the site had been disposed of.

The destruction continues. This is money and vested interests, you see, and that speaks louder than any democratic process or public outcry.

An on-line event hosted by the police, Westminster Government Cabinet Office and Cornwall Council was well subscribed and did little to calm the fears and issues flagged by the local taxpayers of Cornwall who by now had seen the after effects of other G7 Summits where local people had been forced to pick up the bill, both financial and environmental, as well as endure a complete, para military style lockdown which impacted enormously on day to day life.

As a result of that event, we have secured the best contact email address for all those with concerns of any nature regarding the G7. If the corporate criminal damage already seen in Carbis Bay is anything to go by, then there are likely to be countless other issues.

We invite you to express your concerns by writing to the Cabinet Office at: G7correspondence@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Photographs: Carbis Bay before the recent ecocide, already damaged by over development and Carbis Bay with unapproved construction continuing.

Issued by Kernow Matters To Us: 27 March 2021