If only they had voted the other way - where would we be today?

The local paper, The Cornishman ran a story on the 31st of August 1972 about plans being submitted to the Government to double the size of the harbour by building a new pier from Tolcarne and extending the South pier as a breakwater. 

There were three plans submitted in all but this was the most ambitious - supported by Penzance Town Council, Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee, and as it turned out, all the private boat owners in the port.  Normally, there was a 50% grant available but the harbour authorities were looking to get substantially more than that - citing the huge importance of the project.  As it turned out, history shows that the outcome was not what the majority of fishermen at the time wanted - it is easy with the benefit of hindsight to say just how shortsighted this decision was to prove!

The plan shows the new quay and hard standing area to be created which would have effectively doubled the size of the harbour.

The story as it was reported in the Cornishman in August 1973.

The proposals were still being argued about nearly a year later - when the Commissioners decoded to get the opinions of skippers and owners from the port at a mass meeting held in St Peter's Church, Newlyn in March, 1973.  Most of the port's skippers attended and voted unanimously to support the necessary increase in harbour dues and to support the new harbour plans.

On a lighter note, it was good to see local shellfish merchants W Harvey & Sons were keen to employ only 'wanted women' in Newlyn!  Presumably women who were not wanted were rubbish at picking crab?