Loss Of Cornish Blue Flag Status Described As “Devastating”

Cornwall's tourism boss has apologised to businesses after he admitted that administrative errors were behind the absence of Blue Flags in the county this year.

Cornwall's beaches will be "Blue Flagless"

Malcolm Bell, head of Visit Cornwall, said no applications were made for the prestigious Blue Flag status because of staff cutbacks. The admission by Mr Bell was at odds with a previous statement from Cornwall Council which claimed it had been too expensive to apply for Blue Flags.

Previously Porthtowan, Polzeath and Gyllyngvase beach at Falmouth had all enjoyed Blue Flag status. A hotelier from Falmouth described the loss of Blue Flag status as "devastating".

The awards scheme, which is overseen by charity Keep Britain Tidy, highlights those beaches which it believes offer the best facilities, cleanliness and the highest international standard of water quality.
Mr Bell said: "It's the law of unintended consequences - or a cock-up if you prefer. In 2011-12 when we had to take another round of cuts the decision was that we should retain as much marketing as possible and lost about a third of our staff."

One of the staff who went in the cuts had previously been responsible for making Blue Flag applications and nobody else stepped in to take on that role. Mr Bell said he had written to councils and businesses in the areas which have lost their Blue Flags to explain the situation.

He said that the deadline for applications had been in January when Visit Cornwall was in the middle of dealing with the worst storms in decades. Applications for Blue Flag status had previously been handled by the district councils and then Cornwall Council.

Visit Cornwall, part of Cornwall Development Company, the arms-length Cornwall Council organisation to promote the Cornish economy, took on the applications in 2011.
Mr Bell's admission appeared to be at odds with Cornwall Council's previous statement at the beginning of the month in response to questions about why there were no Blue Flag applications for Cornwall.

A Cornwall Council spokesman said: "Cornwall Council, along with other beach owners, has to pay to apply for Blue Flag status. Consequently, we will not be applying for the Blue Flag this season on any of the sites that formerly used to have the award (Gyllyngvase, Porthtowan and Polzeath).

“We will be replacing the Blue Flag with a Seaside Award on these sites for the forthcoming season."
The Seaside Award application costs £609 and is considered as a “stepping stone” towards attaining the Blue Flag award, which costs £838. Jayne Gray, secretary of the Falmouth and District Hotels Association (FDHA), said the loss of Blue Flag status undermined all the work being done by volunteers in Falmouth to keep the resort in pristine condition.

She said: "I think it's really sad. If they had told us in advance they were struggling either administratively or financially and let the FDHA know there would have been plenty of people to take it on. It was not finding out until too late that has devastated everybody."

Mrs Gray is working with others in the town as part of the Friends of Falmouth Bay group which has been out tidying the promenade and repainting seated areas. She said: "To find out we have lost the Blue Flag has taken the rug from under our feet."

Next year the applications for Blue Flag beaches are expected to be handled locally.