New logo and sign writing

Both vehicles have now been sign written and are proving to be very good advertising.

Pole Barn

The Pole barn is now a usable space although there is still much work to do including a proper floor, doors, creating a separate workshop space and putting in a floor upstairs.

Plans will be submitted soon (see previous blog) to extend a covered area to the rear, an extension on one side to be used as a tool store and prorogation space and a single story packing barn at the front in the yard area.

Vegetable Box 19th / 20th November

Item:Small box/Large box/Source
Potatoes (charlotte):1.5kg/Tamar Valley
Carrots:600g/Devon
Red Russian Kale:300g/Trevalon
Onions:600g/Holland
Leeks:500g/Devon
Brussel Sprouts:500g/Devon
Sweet Potato: 500g/Spain
Cauliflower:1#/Devon
Large Boxes only
Ruby Chard:300g/Trevalon
Turnips:500g/Trevalon
Mixed salad:125g/Trevalon

Extras: from Trevalon unless stated
Organic Fruit Boxes(Local & imported):£4/£7/£10
This weeks fruit boxes contain a combination of:
Cooking Apples/Cornwall
Tommy Knight eating apples/Cornwall
Pears/Devon
Kiwi/Italy
Bananas/Dominician Republic
Clementines/Spain

Organic free range eggs £1-60/x6 (Penbugle, Duloe)
Cornish Orchards Apple Juice £11-65/5l box
Potatoes 75p/kg/Tamar valley
Carrots/Devon/£1-00/kg
Red Russian Kale/£1-00/300g
Curly Kale/£1-00/30g
Black Italian Kale/£1-00/300g
Winter Greens/£1-00/300g
Mixed baby leaf salad/£1-00/100g
Turnips/75p/500g
Eating apples (Duloe) £1-50/kg
Cooking Apples (Duloe) £1-50/kg

For many recipe ideas for seet potato and much more follow the link below:

http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Sweet%20Potato%20Recipes.htm

This weeks vegetable box

Item:Small box/Large box/Source
Potatoes (charlotte):1.6kg/1.8kg/Tamar Valley
Carrots:600g/650g/Devon
Mixed salad:125g/Trevalon
Spinach:300g/Trevalon
Onions:550g/Holland
Savoy cabbage:1#/Devon
Leeks:550g/600g/Devon
Calabrese:350g/400g/Devon
Large Boxes only
Cauliflower:1#/Devon
Swede:1#/Devon
Turnips:500g/Trevalon

Extras: from Trevalon unless stated
Organic Fruit Boxes(Local & imported):£4/£7/£10
Organic free range eggs £1-60/x6 (Penbugle, Duloe)
Cornish Orchards Apple Juice £11-65/5l box
Potatoes 75p/kg/Tamar valley
Carrots/Devon/£1-00/kg
Red Russian Kale/£1-00/300g
Curly Kale/£1-00/30g
Black Italian Kale/£1-00/300g
Winter Greens/£1-00/300g
Mixed baby leaf salad/£1-00/100g
Eating apples (Duloe) £1-50/kg
Cooking Apples (Duloe) £1-50/kg

Planting broad beans

Previous attempts to over winter broad beans have not succeeded at Trevalon. Maybe it is the high clay content of 55% which means the ground stays wet most of the winter possibly rotting the beans or maybe they just get eaten by mice or pheasants.

So today I planted broad beans in module trays in the unheated prorogation tunnel. 5kg of beans filled 36 trays of 66 modules = 2376 plants. They should be ready to plant out side in 4 to 6 weeks. If planted in a standard 1.2m bed 20cms apart in rows 30cm apart then the length of bed that will be plated is 160m. This should provide enough broad beans to put in all the vegetable boxes for 3 to 4 weeks next June. If I plant a similar quantity of broad beans in January or February then there will be enough for all the vegetable boxes through June and July.

Correspondance with Caradon District Council

Trevalon
Herodsfoot
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 4RS

08 11 08

Luxstowe House
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 3DZ

Dear Mrs Walters,

I am extremely disappointed by your response to my complaint dated 06 11 08. Your response demonstrates that you do not understand the sequence of events of planning applications at Trevalon or the way planning application fees work. I have requested details of how to appeal against your decision as regrettably you forgot to enclose a copy of the complaints procedure or details of how to appeal.

I request that you look at the complaint again this time taking expert advice on planning application fees and certificates of lawful use, as the latter in my experience seems to be a little understood and much misunderstood form of planning application.

By way of illustration of the above point I need to point out that in no way was I directed by the planning authority to submit a certificate of lawful use, on the contrary I was told on a number of occasions that I could not do this and that I would have to submitted a planning application as officers did not consider that I benefited from permitted development rights. The submitting of a certificate of lawful use was a formal way of challenging the “direction of planning officers” that I did not benefit from permitted development rights.

I would like to draw your attention to Caradon District Council guide to planning application fees,

EXEMPTIONS FROM FEES

“You are exempt from the payment of a fee if your application is...”

“...an application normally regarded as “permitted development” where the application is required only because of a direction or planning condition removing permitted development rights”.

If anything in this letter is unclear feel free to ring me on 01579 326144.


Yours Sincerely


Mark Simon

Trevalon
Herodsfoot
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 4RS

08 11 08

Luxstowe House
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 3DZ

Dear Mrs Walters,

On a number of occasions I have requested a copy of the report submitted to Caradon Planning Department from the County Land Agent regarding assessment of Permitted Development right entitlements for Trevalon in relation to a pre-determination applications submitted in 2005 and 2006. To date I have not been given a copy of the land agents report.

I would like to request a copy of this report as it will be required as evidence if I am required to take the matter of incorrect planning application fee further.


Yours Sincerely


Mark Simon

Trevalon
Herodsfoot
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 4RS

10 11 08

Luxstowe House
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 3DZ

Dear Mrs Walters,

I was disappointed by the telephone conversation I had with Divina Harris this morning. During the course of the conversation she stood by the decision that the correct fee for a certificate of lawful use submitted to establish permitted development rights should be £675. Please can you confirm that this is the fee required for future applications of this kind.

If so I consider that amounts to extortion. If you stand by this decision then planners will be free to demand planning applications for development that does not require it when ever they like, confident in the knowledge that an individual will be more willing to submit a planning application and pay a application fee rather than challenge the planning authority with a costly certificate of lawful use.

Before I formally appeal your decision and begin the inevitable road to the government ombudsman I would like to ask you again to reconsider your decision again and consider the facts below..

You state that the fee for my certificate of lawful use application calculated using the the fee sheet falls within section 9. In the guide to planning application fees from April 2008 is states,

“5) Application for a certificate of lawfulness for a proposed development. You will pay half the normal planning fee.”.

The construction of a pond (15m by 15m) for the purpose of agriculture on agricultural land over 5Ha does not require a planning application. The normal fee for not submitting a planning application is of course zero, and half of zero is also zero. The normal planning fee for the development that I proposed (a pond 15m by 15m) would be zero, therefore the fee for submitting a certificate of lawful use would also be zero.

If it were any other way I would consider it a form of corruption as planning officers would be able to demand fees for development that did not require planning permission and the submission of a planning application.

If anything in this letter is unclear feel free to ring me on 01579 326144.

Yours Sincerely


Mark Simon

Newsletter 5th 6th Nov

This weeks box

In both small and large boxes there is, winter squash and Red Russian Kale (from Trevalon), Potatoes (charlotte) (from Tamar Valley), onions (from Holland) and carrots, leeks, parsnip and mushrooms (from Devon). The large boxes also contain turnips, ruby chard and mixed salad (from Trevalon).

In both small and large vegetable boxes this week there is also a sample of Tommy Knight apples a traditional Cornish apple variety from Cornish Orchards, Duloe (Organic in conversion) they are now available as an extra for all the veg boxes at £1.50/kg.
If you have space for your own apple tree, Cornish Variety apple trees (including Tommy Knight) are available from Trevalon (prices on request).

The fruit boxes contain a combination of Tommy Knight apples (from Duloe), Pears (from Devon), plums and Clementines (from Spain), grapes (from Italy) & Bananas (from Dominican Rep).

First frost

As a result of last weeks heavy frost some of the outside salad was damaged. The plants will grow back but until they have recovered we will be using a combination of the mustard leaves that were unaffected by the frost and salad cut from inside the polytunnels.

For a few weeks there will be enough for all the large boxes to get salad and some of the small boxes as well. This week depending on how much is available some small boxes will receive salad instead of Winter Squash. If you have a small box and would like to have salad over the next few weeks please let us know and we will make sure that you are get some.

Roskillys Organic Milk

I have contacted Cornish Organic Milk producer, Roskilly's, and depending on demand from customers I am looking to be able to offer Roskilly's Organic Milk every week as an extra.

Prices: semi & whole
1 pint 79p
2 pints £1.09
4 pints £1.81

If you are interested in receiving a regular weekly delivery of organic milk please contact us.

Volunteers

There are now two regular volunteers working at Trevalon, putting in two hours a week in exchange for a vegetable box. If you are also interested in helping out on Tuesdays let me know.

Mark