The controversial application to convert part of Penninis Farm into a campsite has been refused by six votes to four.

The proposal, put before the Council?s Planning Committee on Tuesday 14th February, was expected to be deferred at the Chief Planning Officer?s recommendation, but Members decided not to go ahead with the scheme.

The application has caused considerable concern, with over 300 objections and 20 letters of support. Anticipating a capacity turnout in the Council Chamber, a screen was set up in the Town Hall where a further 100 could watch via computer and projector. Thirty people watched the Town Hall screening, but were outnumbered by viewers on the Internet. One hundred and seventy people logged on to watch the meeting on their own computers, a Council webcast record.

Members felt the new campsite did not meet the requirements of Policy 4 of the Local Plan, concerned with the environment. The Countryside Agency was unconvinced that the approach taken would minimise the visual and enviromental impact of the development. A CA report read: ?As it stands, the scale of the proposal is likely to have a significant impact on the intrinsic character of this nationally important and smallscale landscape.?

Members were also concerned that the project would not improve tourist numbers during the early Spring and late Autumn when there is excess capacity, a Local Plan requirement, but would increase numbers during peak season. Cllr Brian Lowen said: ?This development will do nothing for the shoulder (periods of the season) but it will have a big impact on the Island at the busiest time of the year. I despair at the thought of 150 extra people milling around the Co-op on Saturday?.

He pointed out that that Policy 4 supports two residential units per farm, ?but here we have an application for 38.? And as the Planning Committee had previously turned down a proposal for a playpark in the same area, ?how can we grant permission for a development of this nature, when the same reasons for refusal would pertain??

Lowen, a former Chief Technical Officer, also expressed his concerns about the impact on the Islands? water supply, which he described as ?very dear to to my heart.? The campsite would have its own water supply, but would be dependent on the mains supply in periods of drought. It was suggested that this would defeat the object as the campsite would not be a burden when water was plentiful, but would be when scarce.

Cllr Richard MacCarthy said he was impressed with the Enviromental Report and other documents provided by Jon May in support of his application, but pointed out that they had been submitted by the applicant and should therefore be ?taken with a pinch of salt.?

And Cllr Ralph Banfield feared the scale of the development would be the thin end of the wedge and that other farmers could, if the plan was passed, view it as an opportunity to instigate similar sized projects of their own - such as, he suggested, ?go-karting.?

Cllr Marion Bennett, who proposed the refusal, described the scale of the proposal as ?way out of kilter with the Scillies,? and suggested that passing it would ?make a mockery of the hours spent in this chamber arguing the case for or against one or two bed spaces.? She felt the application should be refused on Policies 1,2,4,5 and 6 of the Local Plan, relating to Environmental Protection, Housing, Transport, Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities Fish and Livestock Processing.

After lengthy discussion the application was thrown out by 6 votes to 4, but this may not be the end of the drama. The proposal is likely to go to the Secretary of State for appeal. Disappointingly, the decision will probably not be made on the big screen.

(The picture at the top of this article in no way resembles the proposed scheme).

Firemen rushed to the scene at 12.30am on Tuesday morning when staff accomodation behind the Bishop and Wolf Pub was engulfed by flames. Police have confirmed they are treating the incident as arson.

St Mary’s locals are bidding farewell to Bishop and Wolf landlords Nick and Hannah Rogers on Wednesday ? and some are less than happy about it.

?I?ve counted nine landlords who?ve come and gone in the last ten years,? said one angry pub regular. ?Nick and Hannah are popular, they get involved, they provide good entertainment. You become friends with people and then they have to go! St Austell brewery are a load of *******.?

?It?s the effort and vitality that?ll be missed,? added an Islander. ?They?ve put so much into it, giving us live music and trips off-island. They?re very friendly people and will be sadly missed.?

And another said simply: ?Why? The best landlords since Bobby Hayes.?

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A petition of more than 100 signatures was sent to St Austell brewery, owners of the Bishop and Wolf, Atlantic Inn and Atlantic Hotel, but failed to halt the move. The couple will be replaced by former Atlantic Inn landlords Dave and Lindsay Lee.

Nick, 38 and Hannah, 31, will be moving to the White Hart Hotel in St Austell. ?It?s regarded as a big training house and one of the brewery’s premier hotels,? said Area Manager John McKitterick. ?We wish them all the best on their new challenge.?

Nick, who played in a band on the mainland, gave a live show on Saturday night, but said his farewell was the Sunday afternoon trip to Bryher with friends and regular evening quiz.

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?We?re very sorry to be going,? Nick, from Newquay, told ScillyNews. ?The brewery have a good future lined up for us, learning new skills, so we?re looking forward to it. But we were always back for holidays after we were at the Bishop last time (in 2003) and we will be this time.?

But locals are less philosophical. “It won’t do the pub any good at all,” said one regular today.

A globe-trotting teddy bear has sparked fluffy toy fever at the Atlantic Inn.

The bear, auctioned off by the pub, has visited such far-flung holiday hotspots as Bahrain and the Dominican Republic.

And now Atlantic staff have started a whole ?hug? of bears in the fireplace after donations from locals.

?The teddy bears in the fireplace came about because we had a teddy bear that was auctioned off here for charity,? Rachel Midgley, the Inn?s Assistant Manager, told ScillyNews. ?The bear, called Bonnet after the gig, is actually travelling the world and is away right now.

“Collecting lots of bears was an idea we had at the spur of the moment at the end of last year. Some of the bears on the fireplace are donated rather than loaned and they will be given to local hospices, probaby on the mainland, so the intention is for everything to be given away eventually.?

Rachel and the staff are hoping people will be generous in donating their bears for a worthy cause. ?And any time people go abroad, we want them to let us know and take Bonnet with them,” said Rachel. “Also if they can, bring us a teddy bear home from different parts of the world.?

?We have photographs taken with the travelling bear, so there is an album that we?ve created,” she added. “Again, he?ll eventually be auctioned off to the highest bidder with his travel year book, with the money going to local charities. We hope to make quite a bit of money for Air Ambulance and the RNLI.?

In other pub news, the Atlantic Inn was the recent winner of St Austell Brewery?s Food Pub of the Year Award.

The Atlantic Hotel also scored highly at the annual awards, which recognise all 163 houses in the brewery’s estate.

?I was at the awards dinner last year and the Isles of Scilly didn?t feature,? Area Manager John McKitterick told ScillyNews. ?So I made it a goal to make sure someone on Scilly was recognised this time around.?

McKitterick, 46, has been manager of the hotel and Inn since St Austell brewery took over two years ago. ?Expectations weren?t that high, but we were nominated first for best customer service at the hotel (which we didn?t win) and then best food inn, which I was over the moon about because with two nominations, we had exceeded all hopes.

“When it was announced that we?d won best food, I was absolutely delighted. I rang Rachel in the pub and told them to open a couple of bottles of champagne.?

And he heaped praise on all staff at the Inn, particularly Head Chef Sharon Pengelley and Assistant Manager Rachel. ?They did a cracking job last season, putting the new menu on, particularly Sharon,? he said. ?It was her menu, food and presentation that really helped win this award.

?I think it?s great,? added McKitterick, originally from Newcastle. ?It?s important not just for the Atlantic, but for all people working for St Austell and for the customers and locals, that the brewery recognise the importance of its outlets here on the islands.?

McKitterick and St Austell Building Manager Graham Sandercock presented three cheques of ?1,000 each to local charities Air Ambulance, RNLI and St Mary?s Hospital/League of Friends on Tuesday from money raised by Islanders and visitors at its three St Mary?s sites.

A planning application to be heard before the Islands? Council tomorrow has proved so controversial that the meeting will be beamed onto a big screen in the Town Hall.

Up to 100 people will be able to watch live as Members thrash out a response to the application for a new campsite on Penninis Farm.

The proposal has been described by Council Press Officer Steve Watt as causing ?the biggest response, just on the basis of numbers, of any planning application for years.?

Speaking to ScillyNews today, he described Chief Planning Officer Craig Dryden as being ?snowed under? with letters on the issue.

At the time of finalising the Council?s report, 316 letters of representation had been received with 299 objecting and 17 in support (94.3% against) - although many were signatures on a single letter.

The application ? by farmer and Councillor Jon May - reads ?to change the use of (some of Penninis farm) from agricultural to serviced campsite and part conversion of buildings to accommodate ancillary facilities including staff accommodation.?

?We?re projecting the webcast from a laptop onto a big screen in the Town Hall, as there are only eighteen or so chairs in the Wesleyan Chapel,? explained Steve Watt. ?There’s huge interest in a couple of items in this meeting and in order to give people a chance to see what?s going on, we?re setting up the Town Hall with about 100 chairs.?

Despite the mounting interest in the issue, a deferral to a later date is recommended.

A large turnout is expected for the big screen show, the first of its kind for the Council.

A St Mary?s man may face a jury for his involvement in a speedboat accident which killed one man and seriously injured another two.

Philip Colver, 30, has appeared before magistrates in Truro this week, facing six charges after a speedboat he was handling allegedly passed over the top of a 12 foot dory near St Mawes last July.

Dory passenger Benjamin Cochrane, 31, from St Mawes, was killed and his brother Frazer and friend Chay Richardson suffered minor injuries. Colver and three other speedboat passengers were not hurt.

Colver ? who did not enter a plea ? was given unconditional bail and the case referred to Crown Court. He will appear before magistrates again on March 24.