'Impact of Oxwich Bay Hotel's wedding marquee is exaggerated'
THE bell is yet to ring but punches have already been thrown as the latest skirmish in a Gower planning battle gets underway.
Chartered surveyor Patrick Atherton — representing Oxwich Bay Hotel — which has again applied for permission to use its wedding marquee all year round rather than for seven months of the year, has aimed his sights at the Gower Society.
In a report which forms part of the hotel's application to Swansea Council, Mr Atherton said: "The visual impact of the marquees has been exaggerated and inaccurately portrayed by objectors, particularly the Gower Society, which is a minority interest pressure group that does not represent the views and best interests of the majority of Gower's residents and business proprietors."
The Post asked society chairman Malcolm Ridge to respond, but he was unavailable at the time of going to press.
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Mr Atherton also made allegations about the state of the nearby beach, which forms part of the Penrice Estate — owned by the Methuen-Campbell family.
"Views of the southern part of Oxwich Beach are spoiled and scarred by parked vehicles, ugly and poorly maintained concrete block buildings with flat felt roofs, burnt and rusting red waste skips, brightly painted shipping containers and various materials which have been imported to raise the level of the top part of the beach," said the report.
"The materials, which include Tarmac, lumps of concrete, hard core and rock armour are strewn across the sand."
Thomas Methuen-Campbell described these claims as "nonsense". He said: "All the material on the beach is natural, brought in by the tide.
"Any lumps of concrete may have come from the boat ramp.
"The containers for watersports have been totally repainted.
"The two shops and toilets are soon to be replastered."
Referring to the marquee, he added: "Every beach visitor has said, "What a dreadful eyesore", particularly in the winter."
Mr Atherton said erecting the marquee and taking it down each year — to comply with a planning condition — would lose the hotel nine to 10 weeks of trading.
He said the hotel would cease without the marquee. It was, he said, one of just five left in the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
"In the past 20 years, 24 of Gower's hotels have ceased trading," he said.
Mr Atherton pointed out that, on the plus side, a derelict coal store on Oxwich Beach was being converted into a restaurant. Mr Methuen-Campbell is behind these plans.
The Gower Society was formed in 1947 and aims to protect the peninsula's heritage and built environment, among others.
In a letter to the Post last December, chairman Malcolm Ridge said the society did not object when the marquee was first applied for in 2004, for the summer period and December only.
This temporary permission continued until 2009, when it was revised to April 1 to October 31 only, with the condition that the marquee must be removed from November 1 to March 31.
The society, he said, had no quarrel with the hotel owner.
21 Comments
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by northwalian
Sunday, April 14 2013, 4:12PM
“I found this article before my holiday laast week at Oxwich, so was interested to see the marquee.
The marquee is NOT an eyesore, it is very well positioned.
The hotel grounds are all extremely well looked after.
The litter on the beach and in the lanes is a problem and an eyesore, but easily solved.
Maybe the Gower Society and land owners could do some regular litter picking - this would be a great improvement.”
by oliversmate
Thursday, April 11 2013, 12:31PM
“Considering the car park lies within an area of outstanding natural beauty it's a total eyesore. More should be done to make it more aesthetically acceptable to the landscape. The marquee cannot even be seen unless it's looked for the car park cannot hide.”
by GowerGal82
Thursday, February 14 2013, 11:34AM
“HumaneBeing...
Amazing isn't it how a lot of their interfering petty little group actually have NO rights interfering in ANY business on Gower as they don't even live here and yet a hard working man who has spent his life on Gower and created many jobs over the years for locals etc and brought money into the area, is left fighting for his right to survive here!! Incredible!!”
by GowerGal82
Thursday, February 14 2013, 11:12AM
“"Every beach visitor has said, "What a dreadful eyesore", particularly in the winter." BS!!!!!!
What so all those hundreds of beach goers that visit Oxwich beach every year ALL said that did they?!?!! BS!! I bet a hell of a lot of them though have enquired about weddings or been to weddings there and seen how wonderful it is. On the subject of the car park owners, the ONLY reason they are now tidying up the eyesores on the beach is for the restaurant THEY are about to build in the middle of the beach!!! But hey, the gower society would have no objection to the Campbells building on the beach would they!?!?! Oh no, heaven forbid!! Also, the vast majority of people go to the beach in the summer when the Marquee would be erected anyway so what difference does it actually make?!?!?”
by HumaneBeing
Thursday, February 14 2013, 11:09AM
“The Gower Society are a hindrance to progress, to the evolution of Gower itself and should not be allowed to carry such weight with regards to planning on Gower. Surely the council can come to their own decisions.
They are a pressure group nowadays, little more, with their own little spy plane for aerial photos, & I hear that a lot of their member do not even live on Gower! Amazing! There are members of this little club, paying to 'protect Gower' from the other side of the world! Sticking their ore into Gower peoples lives and allegedly you're right Philosoraptor, I hear they can influence planning for the 'right' people.
And as for the beach, there have been eyesores over the years, one cannot deny that, just because now they are building a restaurant, tidying the rest up is long overdue. That car park probably makes £150k per year. I wonder if there will be a regular cleaning regime implemented for the toilets? That would be nice, as historically, they've stunk.
Credit where credit is due however, the dunes and lakes and so on are well maintained these days.
My final point is simply this, if Mr Campbell can convert his old coal house with no objection (and no objection from me either I might add!) then Mr Williams should be able to keep the marquee up year-round. The new restaurant in the MIDDLE OF THE BEACH was approved with little or no objection, regardless of the new 'light pollution' which will be seen for miles around the point (from Pennard, Three Cliffs etc.). Therefore, why, when it can be easily camouflaged and landscaped, should Mr Williams lose his marquee business in the winter, the toughest time of year for him to turn a profit and pay his staff!”
by hacker_jack
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 12:01PM
“So instead of pointing these people in the right direction to educate themselves on planning law, the Gower Society prefers to perpetuate their ignorance by bleating on about eyesores?
Glad we got that sorted out then.”
by 1gwynfryn
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 11:24AM
“Hi hacker_jack, I was down on Oxwich bay on the weekend and the marquee is more or less hidden by the hedge/wall infront of it, so in my opinion it is not an eyesore, just the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time of year. What was an eyesore was the mess/construction on the foreshore. It looks like money is being spent finally to do up the buildings, long overdue seeing as the landowners charge £2.50 per car and has done little to improve the facilities. The planning points aren't being made forcefully because people do not understand planning law and just complain about the Gower Society, who by the way have no influnce over planning law. They are a self appointed group of landowners etc.”
by hacker_jack
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 8:02AM
“1gwynfryn - That is BS. If it was just about planning permission then those are the points that would be being made. The "eyesore" factor would be a non-issue yet it is repeatedly the main argument thrust forward.”
by strewth
Tuesday, February 12 2013, 9:43PM
“Disband the Gower Society!”
by weslangdon
Tuesday, February 12 2013, 5:40PM
“The sheds and tumble down bits and bobs on the beach are an eyesore, it looks like they just pocket the parking charges and do no development work, but there's no harm in the Marquee.”