Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Billionaire developer Sam Arnaout is making a big pivot into Sydney’s affluent shopping set splashing a cool $450 million to buy the popular St Ives shopping centre which has not changed hands for 39 years a property veteran who started his career as a panel beater hospitality businesses and mixed-use apartment sites in Newcastle and the Gold Coast The purchase of St Ives in the city’s leafy north shore comes with 12 adjoining properties including the Hotel Steyne in Manly.Credit: Brook Mitchell The deal is being billed as the largest “neighbourhood” shopping centre sale in Australian history Arnaout’s Iris Capital bought the 17,475 sq m triple-supermarket-anchored shopping centre from the private EK Nominees which has owned it for 39 years Coles and Harris Farm Markets and comes with an additional 105 specialty tenancies In Shopping Centre News’ annual ranking of Mini Gun Shopping Centres it’s ranked first with moving annual turnover of $264 million a year St Ives shopping centre was owned by private company EK Nominees for 39 years.Credit: Arnaout said the centre is well positioned to benefit from significant “tailwinds benefiting the retail sector specifically the undersupply of retail floor space in the catchment combined with critically needed future residential supply” The deal continues the current momentum of landmark Australian Retail deals including Westpoint Blacktown in NSW for $900 million; Macquarie Centre for $830 million; the Perron/GPT retail partnership in Perth for $482 million; and Northland in Melbourne which transacted for $385 million Colliers’ Lachlan MacGillivray advised EK Nominees on the sale has snapped up the landmark Crystal Palace hotel in Haymarket from its owner Jimmy Galanakis who has held it for the past 45 years The popular pub is located opposite Central Station and was sold for about $35 million The site is well situated to get development approvals because of its location in a metropolitan centre zone with a 50-metre height limit and a high-density floor ratios The deal will add to Feros’ JDA Hotels portfolio which has 13 hospitality venues across three states JDA also owns and operates three other popular hotels in the Haymarket area – the Mountbatten Hotel Charlie Chan’s Bar and Great Southern Hotel The Crystal Palace Hotel in Haymarket.Credit: Feros said he will look at sprucing up the main and sports bars and over the longer term introduce boutique hotel accommodation in the guest quarters “We are very excited to add the Crystal Palace to our portfolio and in particular so as to enjoy the synergies we believe will be able to create within a precinct we already know so well” The deal was managed by HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe The Sydney Potts Point Central Apartment Hotel has been bought for $31.5 million by global multi-manager BGO Strategic Capital Partners and the Sydney-based Hotel Capital Partners is said to be the country’s largest brokered strata amalgamation deal since the pandemic Potts Point Central Apartment Hotel sold for $31.5 million.Credit: Co-living is a relatively new concept where tenants rent a room and use communal facilities such as kitchen and laundries It’s gaining traction as a new investment class for the commercial property sector The four-star hotel comprises 70 serviced apartments at an average of 23 sq m a ground-floor food and beverage outlet and a rooftop with public amenities The planned co-living facility will be managed by UKO CBRE’s Tom Gibson and Angus Windred brokered the deal A prominent hotel development site in the heart of Randwick is set to hit the market with a development-approved project in one of Sydney’s most tightly held eastern suburbs pockets The 980 sq m parcel at 32-34 Blenheim Street has received development approval for a seven-storey project comprising 40 self-contained apartments The hotel development site in the heart of Randwick that is set to hit the market.Credit: but similar properties have sold for about $28 million to $32 million It has a gross floor area of 2898 sq m and with a flexible medium-density residential zoning the site has potential for a variety of uses build-to-rent (BTR) or student accommodation Miron Solomons and Matt Pontey who recently joined Cushman & Wakefield from Colliers are managing the sale campaign on behalf of a private investor and expect interest from a wide range of buyers Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter Billionaire developer Sam Arnaout is making a big pivot into Sydney\\u2019s affluent shopping set The purchase of St Ives in the city\\u2019s leafy north shore comes with 12 adjoining properties The deal is being billed as the largest \\u201Cneighbourhood\\u201D shopping centre sale in Australian history Arnaout\\u2019s Iris Capital bought the 17,475 sq m In Shopping Centre News\\u2019 annual ranking of Mini Gun Shopping Centres it\\u2019s ranked first with moving annual turnover of $264 million a year Arnaout said the centre is well positioned to benefit from significant \\u201Ctailwinds benefiting the retail sector combined with critically needed future residential supply\\u201D Colliers\\u2019 Lachlan MacGillivray advised EK Nominees on the sale The deal will add to Feros\\u2019 JDA Hotels portfolio which has 13 hospitality venues across three states JDA also owns and operates three other popular hotels in the Haymarket area \\u2013 the Mountbatten Hotel Charlie Chan\\u2019s Bar and Great Southern Hotel \\u201CWe are very excited to add the Crystal Palace to our portfolio and in particular so as to enjoy the synergies we believe will be able to create within a precinct we already know so well\\u201D The deal was managed by HTL Property\\u2019s Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe is said to be the country\\u2019s largest brokered strata amalgamation deal since the pandemic It\\u2019s gaining traction as a new investment class for the commercial property sector Australia\\u2019s largest co-living operator CBRE\\u2019s Tom Gibson and Angus Windred brokered the deal A prominent hotel development site in the heart of Randwick is set to hit the market with a development-approved project in one of Sydney\\u2019s most tightly held eastern suburbs pockets invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday Colliers has brokered the sale of St Ives shopping centres and 12 adjoining properties from Iris Capital for $450 million to another family investment business making its first foray into the retail market The deal was secured by Colliers’ MD and is the group’s first investment in retail property Ranking first in Mini Gun Asset Trades this year with $3.4 billion in retail transactions “St Ives shopping village is well positioned to benefit from significant tailwinds benefiting the retail sector specifically the undersupply of retail floorspace in the catchment combined with critically needed future residential supply,” said Sam Arnaout “The St Ives Shopping Village deal continues the current momentum of landmark Australian retail deals Victoria ($385 million),” said MacGillivray By continuing, you agree to Octomedia Terms And Conditions and Privacy Policy 2025As homeowners with mortgages popped the champagne corks following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1% vendors in Sydney’s prestigious Upper North Shore suburb of St Ives also saw immediate benefits The rate cut has sparked renewed buyer confidence leading to remarkable sales results in the area known for its prestigious properties and high-performing state schools St Ives North Public School and St Ives High School The day after the rate cut on 18 February, Mr Triston Lim, Director of Raine & Horne St Ives, secured a phenomenal sale. A stunning and luxurious five-bedroom residence at 7 Wirra at Close, St Ives[i] sold prior to auction for $4.2 million—$600,000 higher than the vendor’s expectations which features a sweeping circular driveway truly captured buyers’ attention,” said Mr Lim “The competitive buyer interest and strong sale price demonstrate the immediate impact of the rate cut on demand in our local market.” set on an expansive 942 square metre block.  “We held our first open last weekend and interest is already heating up,” Mr Lim added This dream family home is set to go under the hammer on Saturday “We’re seeing an influx of buyers seeking well-positioned properties that offer ample space for family living and entertaining.  “The fact this property is in the catchment for highly rated St Ives North Public School and St Ives High School ranked among the top 120 high schools in NSW[iii] is also a driver for upgraders with younger families.” NSW’s low and mid-rise housing policy to reshape St Ives property market According to Mr Lim, another game-changing policy that is set to impact the St Ives real estate market is the NSW Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Plan, which was announced on 21 February[iv] and took effect on 28 February Designed to increase housing density within 800 metres or a 10 minute walk of transport hubs and town centres the new policy aims to deliver 112,000 new homes across the state “This policy will have a major bearing on property values particularly around the St Ives Shopping Village on Mona Vale Road and train stations such as Pymble “With townhouses and duplexes now permitted in areas where they previously weren’t sellers are already reassessing their price expectations.” but we’re already seeing an adjustment in the market a property that was previously listed at $3.5 million is now being marketed at $4 million as the owner anticipates increased demand for redevelopment,” Mr Lim added we haven’t yet seen enough transactions to gauge the full impact of these zoning changes.” With the combination of the recent and future interest rate cuts and zoning changes we are actively expanding our sales team to meet the growing need for high-quality real estate services in the area.”  For all your real estate sales and property management needs in St Ives and surrounding suburbs contact Raine & Horne St Ives at 0414 512 274 [i] https://www.raineandhorne.com.au/stives/properties/7-wirra-close-st-ives-2075-new-south-wales [ii] https://www.raineandhorne.com.au/stives/properties/22-timbarra-road-st-ives-2075-new-south-wales [iii] https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-your-school-ranked-in-the-2024-hsc-20241203-p5kvj7.html [iv] https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/low-and-mid-rise-policy-to-unlock-112000-homes-five-years#:~:text=The%20NSW%20Government's%20changes%20will,zoned%20land%20in%20these%20areas Level 11, 447 Kent StreetSydney, 200002 9258 5400 189 Kelvin Grove RoadKelvin Grove, 405907 3031 0333 8 Greenhill RoadWayville, 503408 8361 3078 Level 11, 552 Lonsdale StreetMelbourne, 300003 9510 2777 Suite 8, 136 Davey StreetHobart, 700003 6231 0000 Text description provided by the architects. The project resists the temptation to conform to a street presentation of private domestic architecture. Rather, the architecture favors a language of the civic and deploys motifs such as a faux colonnade, plain double-story volumes, and a cantilevered entry awning to the face of the building that can be enjoyed (seen) by the wider public. Rendered lightweight walls and brick are painted bright white to form a geometric composition which peeps out behind the greens and oranges and hint to the national park hidden behind the home. and home offices are stacked across two floors west of the site in a less expressive more utilitarian volume served by the spiral staircase You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email The deal enables exclusive talks on processing material from Lunnon’s Lady Herial deposit at St Ives' Lefroy gold plant Australian miner Lunnon Metals has reached an agreement with St Ives Gold Mining to modify St Ives’ existing pre-emption rights on future gold material from the Lady Herial deposit in Western Australia This agreement paves the way for exclusive negotiations regarding the sale of material from Lady Herial for treatment at St Ives’ Lefroy gold plant The Lefroy gold plant is located 7km along an existing haulage route to the north of the Lady Herial deposit The plant’s facilities include primary crushing It treats ore from several mines at a rate of approximately four million tonnes per annum (mtpa) Lunnon Metals will deliver a mineral resource estimate and metallurgical test work to St Ives followed by a 90-day period to agree on sale and purchase terms If an agreement with St Ives is not reached within this time frame Lunnon Metals can negotiate with other parties for a further 120 days Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis discussions with St Ives will resume for another 90 days The high Australian dollar gold price environment along with granted mining leases and infrastructure in the region positions Lunnon Metals in an advantageous position Lunnon Metals managing director Edmund Ainscough said: “We would like to thank Gold Fields for agreeing to work collaboratively with us as we seek to secure the future treatment of our exciting “The Lefroy gold plant is without doubt the most efficient and most logical destination for any future material and we look forward to negotiating mutually beneficial terms with Gold Fields.” Recent metallurgical test work on material from the 2024 drill programme has shown high gold recoveries Lunnon Metals and St Ives plan to explore the potential for even higher recoveries by incorporating a gravity separation step in future test work In October 2024, Gold Fields selected Fleet Space Technologies’ ExoSphere to improve its exploration efforts at the Salares Norte project in northern Chile Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network A novice painter finds the artistic heritage of St Ives somewhat daunting initially but expert tuition in a dream artists’ studio soon gets the creative juices flowing There was the briefest moment late on Sunday afternoon when What I had produced was by no means accomplished but I was beginning to see what it could become It may sound like a modest achievement, but before signing up for a weekend Discover Painting course at St Ives School of Painting I had not put a brush to canvas since my GCSEs almost 30 years ago so I knew the weekend would push me out of my comfort zone The view from Porthmeor Studios Photograph: Michael Winters/AlamyThe School of Painting is a long-established part of that heritage – and all the painters mentioned above worked here at some point It’s the dream artists’ studio: high ceilings angled Atlantic-facing windows flooding the place with light My nerves were clearly shared by the eight others on the course a mix of men and women aged between about 30 and 60 As we introduced ourselves on Saturday morning we each owned up to varying levels of ineptitude We were not there to create a finished piece Our imagined masterpieces would have to wait It was a sentiment he would come back to several times over the two days whenever he noticed we were taking things too seriously ‘We created colour palettes that ran from lightest yellows to forest greens from deep reds to vibrant blues.’ Photograph: FreshSplash/Getty ImagesThe school offers a range of courses – from oil painting to printmaking – for all levels The Discover Painting course is described as “a fast track into painting from the heart” and in keeping with this we were at work – or knocking out pencil and charcoal sketches of a still life of pots There was no time to wonder how bad our attempts were as mixing acrylic paints and creating colour palettes that ran from lightest yellows to forest greens Mixing paints was a complete change of pace part of what Ilker described as ‘the Zen part of painting’Mixing paints was a complete change of pace part of what Ilker described as “the Zen part of painting” though by the afternoon we were back to painting rapidly first with a variety of brushes and then creating different textures with palette knives a one-bedroom apartment minutes from the studio I was tired enough to be glad I could order in a pizza St Ives beach offers painters plenty to consider in terms of light and colour. Photograph: thepurpledoor/Getty ImagesBy the second day, after an early morning swim at Porthgwidden beach and breakfast at Porthmeor Beach Cafe We were loosening up as we broke out the easels and moved onto larger canvases drawing together the various techniques we’d practised My still life sketches started to morph into something more abstract close-ups of two sections of pots now beginning to resemble two planets colliding featured trips and local tips for your next break as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays A hush descended over the studio in the final two hours contented concentration etched on our faces“You will fail and fail and fail,” Ilker told us cheerfully as he moved between the desks offering small suggestions and encouragement He pulled down a large art book from a shelf to show us the 40 or 50 attempts Henri Matisse had made before getting his painting of a reclining nude “right” It was liberating to feel I didn’t have to be good at something for a whole weekend contented concentration etched on our faces I suspect each of us forgot we had entered the studio on Saturday morning feeling we were frauds who had mistakenly been handed paintbrushes I was even tempted to frame one of my attempts and hang it in my office The three-day Discover Painting course at St Ives School of Painting is £395pp. Accommodation was provided by Aspects Holidays; three-night stays at The Quarterdeck from £466.50 Wyl Menmuir is the author of The Heart of The Woods (Aurum, £16.99), available at guardianbookshop.com for £15.29 a prominent Sydney-based property developer following official development application (DA) approval The company is gearing up to launch sales for this transformative development which promises to redefine luxury living in the prestigious St Ives area will feature 18 meticulously designed three-bedroom apartments The development aims to set a new standard for upscale living in Sydney’s Upper North Shore light-filled residences that exude timeless elegance the Newhaven Place location offers residents: The area’s appeal is further enhanced by the Ku-ring-Gai Council’s upcoming green space development and the planned upgrade of the St Ives Indoor Sports Centre expressed pride in the company’s dual role as developer and builder stating: “We’re immensely proud to not only develop but also build Ellis Residences continuing on previous success with our in-house construction arm GOP Constructions “We will be looking to commence works in April 2025 “This dual role allows us to maintain a high level of control over both the design and construction process “We are confident that Ellis Residences will be a defining example of our commitment to delivering superior homes that blend design excellence with an enviable lifestyle in one of Sydney’s most sought-after suburbs.” Inca Group is collaborating with renowned architects A+ Design Group to bring Ellis Residences to life Construction is scheduled to commence soon with completion expected by September 2026 Thompson highlighted the project’s unique positioning: “Ellis Residences is uniquely positioned as a private enclave close to Garigal National Park “With only 18 exquisitely designed apartments this is a rare opportunity to embrace luxury in one of Sydney’s most desirable suburbs.” As St Ives continues to attract attention for its blend of suburban tranquillity and urban convenience Ellis Residences is poised to become a landmark development in this sought-after area of Sydney’s Upper North Shore You must be logged in to post a comment Construction industry ready as Queensland hospital expansion review concludes Boroondara opens nominations for 2025 Urban Design Awards Construction industry leaders to take part in 2025 Vinnies CEO Sleepout New leadership team appointed to overhaul QLD’s construction regulator Engineers Australia calls for target of 60,000 additional engineering graduates by 2035 Willmott Dixon selected to lead construction of Northern Roots Visitor Centre in Oldham New York state launches US$16.6m road resurfacing initiative on Long Island Foster + Partners unveils design for luxury green community on Laheq Island Victoria Tower Adelaide celebrates topping out milestone Plus Architecture secures DA approval for landmark build-to-rent project in West Melbourne Why concrete carbon sequestration could revolutionise the construction industry Adoption of AI in construction remains low with widespread concerns CFMEU investigation uncovers bad behaviour in building industry Sector hones in on sustainable building elements to meet efficiency standards Concrete surface treatments still improving after decades of innovation The Cornish resort may be the picturebook seaside town but through a desolate winter and a crowded summer visitors and locals reveal a community in danger of losing its soul herring gulls dive-bomb for ice-cream and rib boats stalk the bay As a child she lived on the hill in her grandmother’s house Her grandmother had five bedrooms and six children: that was her estate None could afford to buy the others out on a native St Ives salary so Lizzy rented in the town: pretty cottages she had money to spend: a good life in a town that looks like a storybook the council told her to go to a homeless shelter insulated it and put a mattress in the back She joined a spa to use the washing facilities You know – those things on wheels?’” All tourists have an obliviousness They park Ferraris in loading bays meant for tradesmen Braver ones wrestle with fish: I met a man on the quay as the flounder he had caught died Lizzy works 12-hour shifts in summer and saves money; she spent last winter in Thailand She wishes she had bought the van years ago It’s given me the freedom to be able to save the money I would have been spending to go travelling and do the things I want to do I’ll probably end up in the future looking at something like a bit of land in Portugal.” She will She wouldn’t inflict her experience of social cleansing elsewhere but St Ives has a powerful lure on my imagination I spent much of the last year driving across the moor Lizzy’s friend moved to Leicester when her rent increased by £400 a month Of the three young people she worked with at a takeaway She wonders if the stress of making rent is killing people because because she parks up on the cliffs: even a caravan on a piece of land can be £600 a month There are tent villages on cliffs and in valleys now – a man camped on a grassy roundabout until his tent was removed by the council and businesses cannot get staff because there is nowhere for them to live I ask her: aren’t you afraid to park on the cliffs The National Trust knock on the van sometimes but a police officer told her just to say she’s tired And” – now she laughs – “I’m a taekwondo master.” who wanted to rule a theoretical Nazi Cornwall from the Treganna Castle resort American academics visit Woolf’s childhood holiday home and They served four families a week in summer and 12 in winter we’re serving an average of 30 families a week in the summer and 60 in the winter because of the seasonal work element and the fact that house prices Demand was high during Covid because pensioners, who are often too proud to ask for help, were afraid. Wallis is worried about them: “What’s happening now in terms of how they’re coping?” The cost of living crisis has led to another spike. Donations rose during Covid; now they have halved. The food bank fundraises, picks up excess food from supermarkets – “end of shelf life stuff” – and works with Gleaning Cornwall who marrows and cabbages (“What’s been left in the fields as being not to the standards of the supermarket They know when it isWallis is also worried about local children “I know from the schools that they have been doing breakfast for the kids because they haven’t had any food before they come Who’s giving them school lunches and breakfast?” He is soothed by the fact that there is more work in the town because it’s summer and parents are cleaning holiday cottages or working minimum-wage jobs in the town Cleaners are scarce and rates have gone up: some get £18 an hour now It’s hard to get donations from visitors because unseeing is essential to a fantasy of west Cornwall If you know local children are living in insecure mould-slaked housing and eating from food banks it’s harder to follow your own paths into its dreamworlds Cornwall is increasingly sold as a wellness destination Wallis says a Swiss couple give £500 each year People ring and ask him to collect excess food from their holiday cottage when they leave At the St Ives School of Painting overlooking Porthmeor beach, in November, the artist Camilla Dixon is teaching a course: observation and abstraction She makes work about environmental activism through the lens of St Ives Later I will see Dixon’s 2024 show Original Rebels in this room Her work Disruption details how Patrick Heron prevented the Admiralty from using the Penwith Moors as a training ground for helicopter pilots A Figure in the Landscape shows how Barbara Hepworth stopped part of the town being made into a car park where Hepworth sat down to prevent the cobbles being torn up for tarmac in 1967: she told the workmen she was valuable and if they touched her Local artist Camilla Dixon and the second-home ownership protest banners she painted to ‘peacefully – but urgently’ raise awareness of the problems it brings I meet a student who is legal counsel for a multinational company in the Netherlands It is his third visit to St Ives and he hopes to live here one day He says he loves the colours and the smells I’m trying to find some kind of way of coping with this without going crazy I’m not seeking to be featured in the Tate gallery She is in St Ives “trying to have new experiences” She says she heard shanty singing this week and followed the singers as they moved from pub to pub: she knew they were not tourists ‘I’m not going to get out my camera or do a video.’” Rather she made a pen and ink drawing in her notebook because to draw something is to really see something; or to change the way you see it I think that is why people come to west Cornwall: to change the way they see the world She is planting yellow flags with red inked messages in the sand on a rising tide Two small yachts in the harbour carry sails that read Holiday Homes Cause Homelessness & Wreck Lives “St Ives and Padstow are among the poorest towns in Cornwall but also have the highest proportion of second homes,” Dixon says “Regulating the change of use of a dwelling house to a holiday home through planning and developing a culture of ecotourism would allow Cornish communities to benefit from I believe we needn’t have a housing crisis but it would require a complete change of attitude to property leisure and the culture of staycation colonialism.” She wants “to raise awareness of the direct connection between holiday homes and homelessness to create stigma around ownership instead of status to open that conversation peacefully – but urgently” She was asked to leave her rental in 2022 and spent 10 months in emergency accommodation she was too frightened to leave her daughter alone in the room Now she has a job with accommodation included: it wasn’t the work she wanted “It’s just a rich man’s playground down here now,” she says “You used to be able to discern different accents – St Ives In February I visit the Penwith Gallery with Ken Turner activist and former teacher at Central St Martins ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I approached the gallery and banged on the door and kept banging Help!’” A woman opened the door and looked at him “I had written on cardboard the words: ‘This gallery Another time he wrapped a piece of cod in plastic presented himself at the Tate – it was closed – and told the guard You’d get lots of fish and chips out of that.” and for this I find him singular and touching He knows it is a dreamscape and he prefers to paint reality who fears tourists are destroying the town I wonder why the paintings have no people in them: are they St Ives in winter “I paint with social themes like climate change “I think it’s necessary for artists now to look at what’s happening to the planet And these paintings are not observing that Because of the conditions of the time: the church The motivation is to produce interesting works “You’re tourists!” he cries at the two women “We’re doing a course at the School of Painting,” they say sadly “It took us an hour and 40 minutes to park.” to celebrate the consecration of St Ia church the town’s patron saint – she crossed from Ireland on a boat made of ivy – the vicar blesses a silver ball All the townsfolk wear ivy round their necks The musicians of Bagas Porthia play the old folk tune Bodmin Riding: the drumbeat of the Earth A procession walks to the church by the lifeboat house and the mayor throws the ball – sterling silver around a core of applewood – to the children of the town “Guare wheg ya guare teg” [fair play is good play] and it is theirs until noon Matthew Pascoe stands on his boat Gemma and pulls lobsters in St Ives Bay. A hundred years ago there were 250 fishing boats here; now there are 20 and in summer they are outnumbered by tourist craft He is from a St Ives fishing family; his father taught him to fish “a long time ago But whether it’s a day’s work or not is a different story.” In winter he makes nets in his loft on Porthmeor beach, which is immune to holiday letting. As part of the alliance between artists and fishers unique to St Ives, the lofts are let to fishers in perpetuity and artists work in the studios above: Ben Nicholson, Heron and Francis Bacon once painted here I wouldn’t do any other job.” Fishing used to be “a collective enterprise You can still earn £500 a day.” Though not every day: the weather ‘It’s dog-eat-dog now’: local fisher Matthew Pascoe and the harbour when the tourists have left He likes to fish at night when the tide permits it’s not very nice at all.” Dolphins keep him company; seals are his rivals rang the police and said the boat was chasing dolphins “I’ve never chased dolphin in my whole life You can’t eat a dolphin” – he looks aghast – “but they’re chasing you.” The gulls dog him: one tried to take a cheese and ham sandwich from his hand one from the front with no intention of thieving “They’re worth nothing.” The brown crab is too small to sell which is blue-black and tiny: “You get bigger prawns than this.” He measures some lobsters He throws back a pregnant one – the eggs are black – and one marked with notches on the tail to denote fertility: the stocks must be preserved Within two hours he has nine saleable lobsters He once caught a vast lobster – an ancient perhaps 70 years old – and threw him back in “you go back.” He excuses himself by insisting such a large lobster would be hard to sell I ask him about the competing fantasies of St Ives where people protested about the removal of trees “were only planted because the gardener couldn’t be bothered to cut the grass 200 years ago That part of the Treloyhan estate was open gardens You look at all the old pictures from whenever it was built But people are up in arms about the woods being destroyed who moved here from Lancashire when she was five and she says she will tell me how St Ives used to be Her parents had a hotel in Fore Street in the 1950s over what is now a Mountain Warehouse shop “but everybody did that.” Richer people bought Victorian terrace houses on the hill for B&B and fishermen’s wives rented out the best bedroom and that same family would come down every year Then the visitors were mostly working-class people Each season would be a carbon copy of the one before “I know people who are in their 90s,” she says we’ve been coming to St Ives for the last 70 years we used to stay with Mrs So-and-so in such a street and then we stayed with so-and-so.’” But it’s not like that now and the holiday lets are usually owned by people who’ve bought them especially for that purpose “Nobody lives here any more out of season,” Rashleigh adds “If you go uptown now you won’t see many people I’ve just walked down from Tesco and I don’t think I’ve met four We’ve got a parking space at the Sloop Inn and most of the people there will be tradesmen because this time of year scaffolding goes up like a forest because everybody wants their work done before Easter Most shops are boarded up except in the summer Most of the cafes have shut down for the winter.” It’s changed completely’: long-time resident Phyllis Rashleigh Rashleigh’s next-door neighbour was Barbara Hepworth “Mother used to say the lady next door was an artist and sculptor We used to lean over the wall and wave to her We used to draw pictures to show her and she’d look at them and draw a bit of smoke coming out of the chimney or something like that And it was in the days when TV was quite primitive.” As she watched with her parents Miss Hepworth is doing her sculpting again.’” She remembers when Hepworth died in a fire in 1975 “The firemen said she was lying in bed looking quite peaceful but black from head to toe.” She remembers Sven Berlin whose novel The Dark Monarch added more myth to St Ives open-top car with a hood like a pram at the back of it He used to park it outside the Union at dinner time and go in for a drink You could do that then because there wasn’t any other traffic.” It is said Crowley performed dark magic at Carn Cottage in Zennor the artist who wrote Zennor: Spirit of Place says he found someone sacrificing a goat at the cottage A local farmer told me he was working nearby and his dogs fled I ask Rashleigh how many people live in Downalong all year round The one with the white gate there: she lives here “You see they’ve all got names on them and no lights on.” The names are gruesome that belonged to Eileen.” She points again You could go on and on and on.” We pass the graveyard: of course “Local people don’t own St Ives any more,” she says I wonder how much that is?” Homes on Downalong cost £400,000 and more We pass council houses built for fishermen after the war said he couldn’t stand the garden birdsong he heard when he lived at the top of the town In answer to the question of how many people live in Downalong full-time A UK house in a prime tourist location is on the market for less than it sold for in 1996, nearly thirty years ago.  On the market for £35,000 – equivalent to $68,500 in Australian dollars – the property looks like a lovely four-bedroom family home.  But the house may not be standing for much longer, thanks to a giant mineshaft that appeared in the driveway.  Since the hole appeared last November, residents have had to live behind a tall security fence.  “We have been informed that the property is unstable and therefore unable to view,” the listing states.  The property, which will go to online auction next week through agents Clive Emerson, is described in the listing as needing “remedial work”.  It is located in St Ives, Cornwall, which was a historic tin mining district in the mid-nineteenth century.  Kent 80-year-old pensioner refuses to budge from clifftop Folkestone house How the boom and bust of the mining industry affects the housing market in nearby regional towns Fire-damaged home with soot, sagging ceilings and floors coming undone is heading to auction With homes in the surrounding area selling for around £500,000, the bungalow’s £35,000 price tag is a fraction of what buyers would expect to pay.  It represents a severe financial loss for the current owners, who bought the home in 2001 for £80,000, according to Rightmove data. The information on this website is intended to be of a general nature only and doesn't consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. where we are privileged to live and operate Michael Bird fears the patient zero of British overtourism may soon end up on life support Will Sleath says the town is definitely not desolate in winter If you’re struggling to find a long-term residential let you’re not going to be able to cheer yourself up with a £29 seafood linguine from what was once an affordable local cafe What Gold doesn’t say is that local government has a crucial role to play in enabling the full‑time residents of St Ives to carry on our daily lives – to bring up families But the terror of deterring tourists by making it even slightly more difficult or expensive to drive into St Ives is leading to decisions that Under a transport project for which Cornwall council has won £5.5m of Town Deal (ie local residents face being kicked out of their council‑owned parking spaces to make way for visitors while traffic is funnelled away from the tourist honeypot harbour into more densely populated residential streets on St Ives’ higher slopes where tight-packed Victorian terraces often have no outdoor space that could be used for parking Result: residents forced to move out of St Ives, more houses sold as second homes, more pollution, and more problems living and working full-time in a town that desperately needs to grow its non-tourist economy. Unless Cornwall council swings squarely behind its own people here Gold’s “patient zero” will end up on life support.Michael BirdSt Ives Gold’s article states that St Ives is empty in winter One of her interlocutors claims that most shops are boarded up except in the summer and most of the cafes are closed in the winter Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays The Weekly SOURCE is published by DCM Media A listed building in St Ives that has been closed to the public for 65 years is among seven "lesser-known heritage treasures" that have secured money from National Lottery Heritage Fund this week The St Ives site, the Palais de Danse, was used by sculptor Barbara Hepworth as a second studio between 1961 and 1975. It was built as cinema and dance hall in the early 1900s and sits opposite the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in the Cornish seaside town which received £2.8m from the Heritage Fund will create an immersive recreation of the artist’s workshop spaces alongside areas for making that inspire creative skills development The Grade II*-listed Palais de Danse was given to Tate by members of the artist's family in 2015 The grant announcement was made on Heritage Treasures Day (14 January) which is designed to spotlight the diverse range of heritage projects across the UK that have been saved using lottery funding over the past 30 years Among the seven other projects to receive funding was Edinburgh’s Old Royal High School an architectural masterpiece on Calton Hill that was given £5m The aim is to create a new venue for music and culture in the building which was designed by Greek-revivalist architect Thomas Hamilton in the 1820s Belfast City Council has secured £768,000 to redevelop the Strand Cinema Northern Ireland’s last remaining art deco picture house.  £4.7m will support the restoration of the Grade II*-listed Canada House in Castlegate Originally built in 1875 as offices for the Sheffield United Gas Light Company the building will transformed into Harmony Works An £8m grant award will help restore and convert the Grade II* Listed Jumbo Water Tower in Colchester making it accessible to the public for the first time as a heritage and events space The Grade II*-Listed Kingsley Hall in Bristol’s Old Market received £4.7m in a project for youth homelessness charity 1625 Independent People A £1.3m grant will help restore and convert the former Marchwell Stables of the West Sussex County Asylum which is credited as the birthplace of art therapy The Marchwell Studios project will create affordable and accessible creative and makers spaces Most Museums Journal content is only available to members Join the MA to get full access to the latest thinking and trends from across the sector The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n \n \n \n '.concat(e,' Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response The file could not be found for a number of reasons such as the file being moved or deleted. Please check your spelling and if you still can't get to the right page try heading to the homepage for a look around If you still have problems, try contacting us and we'll do what we can to help you. Click here to get back to where you came from This is probably not the page you’re looking for Hepworth in the Palais de Danse in 1962 with the plaster prototype for Single Form, which is installed outside the United Nations building in New YorkPhoto: Studio St Ives, © Bowness Semi-derelict and out of use for almost 50 years following the death of Barbara Hepworth in 1975, the former dance hall in which the artist created some of her best known works is set to reopen as an exhibition, learning, event and community space, the latest addition to Tate’s St Ives portfolio. In addition to making the building safe and accessible, preserving the traces of Hepworth’s activities at the Palais is a key component of a capital project costing £8m, of which £2.8m has been granted by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with further support received from sources including The Headley Trust, The Bowness Family, The Hepworth Estate, The Porthmeor Fund and The Bridget Riley Art Foundation. The location of the Palais on one of St Ives’s narrow and impossibly steep thoroughfares, often clogged with traffic, inevitably raises questions about the wisdom of adding another visitor attraction to a town already struggling with overtourism. Andrew Mitchell, an independent local councillor and Tate St Ives Advisory Board member, acknowledges that the museum’s relationship with the town has not always run smoothly. “I think the Tate in the first couple of years really had the wrong attitude and alienated quite a number of local residents with its attitude that, ‘we are the Tate, and therefore we can do what we want’,” Mitchell says. “I think after a couple of years, they realised that they maybe had the wrong people in position, and then there was a change of staff who really reached out to the community.” The Palais de Danse is expected to appeal to local visitors during the quieter winter months, and by positioning it as a community resource, the intention is that it will alleviate rather than exacerbate pressures on the local population. The revival of this much-loved local landmark, used as a warehouse for coal and tea before becoming a cinema and then a dance hall from 1925,may also bring in local people who have previously felt that Tate St Ives had nothing to offer them. Two multi-day public consultation events in 2024 tapped a seam of local history, with people bringing along photographs and memorabilia, and memories. “There were so many stories about people’s parents, or grandparents, even, falling in love at a dance and getting married and then having kids”, Barlow says. “You’ve still got people alive today who remember going there for a dance out on Saturdays,” Mitchell says. “I think that’s just brilliant.” Used by the dance teacher Phyllis Bedells when she came to St Ives during the Second World War, the Palais’s sprung maple dance floor proved ideal for Hepworth’s parties and as a display area. She retained Bedells’ large studio mirror, and created moveable glassine (a type of translucent paper) screens to make the space more flexible. The floor will remain the beating heart of the Palais as, pending planning permission for designs proposed by Adam Khan Architects, it enters its next phase. Under the museum’s plans, the dance hall and adjoining small hall, which features a bar area that will be retained as “a distinct servery area and break-out space”, will be available for private and corporate hire, the fees for which will subsidise use by schools and community groups. The aim is to provide a balance of experiences, with the venue’s layered history sensitively retained, and the Palais restored to the heart of town life. Community consultations have made clear that “people want the chaos of a workshop rather than the order of a gallery”, says Louise Connell, the head of programme management at Tate St Ives; therefore making is at the heart of the venture, with the yard given over to “messy making”. However, Hepworth’s own story is just as important, and features from her time will be retained, with original items such as chairs reinstalled, less as exhibits than as furniture, as well as sculptures. A shortage of affordable housing in the town is a problem for both locals and visiting artists, and a flat will be available for residencies, increasingly in demand among a younger generation of artists keen to respond to Hepworth’s legacy at St Ives. With two-thirds of the required funds now secure, the focus now is on ensuring a viable revenue plan for the anticipated opening of the Palais de Danse in two years’ time. archive1 December 1994The Hepworth papers: why the delay?Despite the sculptor’s wishes Alan Bowness has failed to hand her papers over to the Tate archive31 May 1993In the land of King Arthur, towards the setting sun: Tate gallery, St IvesA third branch of Britain's leading modern art gallery opens with emphasis on the St Ives artistic community Words:  Bea Mitchell Former dance hall was artist Barbara Hepworth‘s studio Tate St Ives in Cornwall, England is to restore and reopen the historic Palais de Danse, a former cinema and dance hall, and artist Barbara Hepworth‘s studio The art gallery has been awarded £2.8 million in funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore the landmark building which has been closed to the public for 65 years said the funding “brings us to two-thirds of our fundraising goal and marks a significant milestone in our journey to transform this historic building” “We are excited to be working towards re-imagining the Palais de Danse as a vibrant heritage site that builds on Hepworth’s remarkable legacy and actively engages our local communities,” she added The Grade II-listed Palais de Danse was originally a cinema and dance hall in the early 1900s and later became Hepworth’s second studio from 1961 to 1975 where she created some of her most iconic works Tate St Ives will restore key elements of the building including the grid-marked floor in the lower workshop which still bears the outline of Hepworth’s Single Form bronze sculpture including its 24-metre sprung maple floor and recreated glassine screens designed by Hepworth This will become a “living heritage” space Additionally, the new venue will feature an immersive recreation of Hepworth’s workshop spaces on the ground floor the yard outside will be opened to the public serving as a new workshop and outdoor space for hands-on art making Stuart McLeod, director of England – London & South at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “One of the things that stood out for us with Tate St Ives and Palais de Dance was the huge impact this project will have on the community and people of St Ives, as well as the wider impact for Cornwall “The project will help boost the local economy and create new spaces for interpretation with creative engagement and focus on developing young people through new skills and apprenticeships.” Get the latest attractions industry news direct to your inbox More from this author Blooloop is taking climate action and is now B Corp Certified speed and the best experience on this site This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, download or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app It was April 2023 and she had shown up early to a meeting of the local council in St a bucolic seaside community of some 10,000 souls in southwest England a keen surfer and lifelong environmental campaigner had joined the council several months earlier to influence some of the issues facing her home: the old town center Wilson Hodges had been researching a Canadian start-up called Planetary Technologies and was concerned about their activities in St she had only learned about the company a few weeks earlier over several days during the previous fall Planetary had added a slurry of magnesium hydroxide to the local water company’s sewage pipe and pumped it into the sea off St The experiment was meant to test a potential solution to climate change called ocean alkalinity enhancement Planetary hoped to coax the ocean into absorbing more atmospheric carbon dioxide and slow global warming in the process Senara Wilson Hodges has been instrumental in pushing back against Planetary Technologies’ plans for ocean alkalinity enhancement in the United Kingdom’s St She quickly found that others in town were equally concerned How could they sleep soundly while an unknown company was pouring chemicals into the sea the company planned to press ahead with a much larger trial in the summer So Wilson Hodges threw herself into mobilizing opposition she had organized a protest group and planned a rally on the beach to demonstrate against the project She hoped the council could at least press Planetary to delay its plans and study its potential environmental impact in more detail she was unsure how her proposal would land she stood to the side as her fellow councilors filed into a wood-paneled room at the town hall the session had also attracted a few dozen spectators some holding signs that read “Keep our sea chemical free.” After cycling through other business the mayor called on Wilson Hodges to present her case She stressed that there had not been adequate scientific scrutiny of Planetary’s methods and that the company was essentially planning to use the local sea as a test bed “We need to understand what this experiment means for St Ives Bay and the community living around it,” she implored the other councilors were equally fired up they voted near-unanimously to oppose future trials in the bay under any circumstances As the lowest tier of local government with limited authority beyond administering community services the town council has no real say about whether the trial will ultimately go ahead—that responsibility falls to the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency it was a clear signal that Planetary was not welcome in St The heated debate that ensued has pitted old-school environmentalists against climate-tech evangelists caused a rift with the council in the neighboring town of Hayle and led the Environment Agency to commission an audit of the project The regulator will soon deliberate on whether a larger trial can proceed it could take place almost two years after Planetary had initially planned Ives has played out as a growing number of start-ups and researchers around the world prepare to conduct their own ocean alkalinity enhancement trials Ives could provide a useful case study in how to convince local communities of their good intentions and scientific rigor Whether Planetary is successful could help determine which of these technologies are adopted more widely Planetary’s work also raises fundamental questions: After messing with natural ecosystems for so long how do we repair the damage without causing more And who gets to decide where that takes place Ives council vote marked the culmination of a turbulent few weeks for Mike Kelland had cofounded Planetary in 2019 because he believed ocean alkalinity enhancement to be the most promising solution to a problem increasingly dogging global action on climate change: how to not only cut carbon emissions dramatically but also remove those already accumulated in the atmosphere Interest in ocean alkalinity enhancement, as well as other solutions that fall under the broad umbrella of geoengineering has risen alongside a growing consensus that engineered carbon removal is unavoidable The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) now says removing carbon from the atmosphere will be necessary to limit warming to below 2 °C by the end of the century carbon removal could help achieve net-negative emissions and reduce global warming in the long run Companies are already removing carbon by planting trees and seagrass and even by directly filtering it out of the air ocean alkalinity enhancement is one of the most potent options The IPCC estimates that it has the potential to remove up to 100 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year more than twice our annual greenhouse gas emissions and likely far more than any alternative the ocean is already the world’s largest store of carbon and has absorbed roughly 30 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution Some of that carbon dioxide is neutralized over time as rain weathers rock and washes minerals into the sea causing a chain of reactions that alkalinity enhancement essentially simulates at hyper speed Planetary, which eventually plans to sell carbon credits that other companies could use to offset their own emissions, developed its approach with a small team of marine scientists. It involves releasing magnesium hydroxide, an alkaline substance that occurs in nature as the mineral brucite but can also be manufactured synthetically the chemical binds carbon from carbon dioxide already dissolved in the water into bicarbonates The resulting carbon dioxide deficit allows the sea to draw more from the air thereby lowering its concentration in the atmosphere Graph by Mark Garrison with data from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Planetary says the shallow waters and strong currents of St Ives Bay offer ideal conditions to keep the alkaline water in the upper layer of the ocean where the air–sea gas exchange takes place this is a great place to do this,” Kelland tells me over a Zoom call from his home in Ottawa sporting AirPods and the faintest hint of stubble He now spends much of his free time canoeing and hiking in the woods of Ontario but both of his parents were born in England he whiled away many a summer on beaches around Cornwall Planetary has emphasized that magnesium hydroxide is far from an unknown quantity It is widely used in wastewater treatment—for example to help filter out heavy metals—and it’s the main ingredient in drugstore laxatives and antacids like Milk of Magnesia adding anything to natural environments can be contentious “People hear chemistry and they don’t like that,” says David Ho a geochemist and professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ho himself is involved in several ocean alkalinity enhancement projects as a researcher including in the United States and Iceland and is cofounder and chief science officer of nonprofit research organization [C]Worthy which makes open-source software to quantify the efficacy and side effects of marine carbon removal he says the threat to local ecosystems posed by ocean alkalinity enhancement should be fairly low Adding large amounts of ground-up minerals to the sea could raise the water pH too quickly or add toxic trace metals Other researchers have also flagged that changing the carbon chemistry of the ocean could have unintended side effects such as slowing the growth of microalgae that provide food for a vast range of sea creatures lowering the ocean’s acidity could benefit shell-forming organisms and corals we don’t really know what exactly will happen: so far scientists have mainly studied ocean alkalinity enhancement in labs or have only modeled its effects While a handful of other companies have conducted small field studies Planetary is one of the first to undertake trials at a larger scale “It’s the unknown unknowns that get you sometimes in nature,” Ho says like Ho and many other scientists in the field Kelland is convinced that any remaining questions about the technology’s efficacy and impacts can only be answered in the open ocean “There really is no substitute for real-world work in this space,” he says That message did not land as intended in St When Planetary went public with its plans for the bay in the spring of 2023—and first widely disclosed the details of its experiment from the previous fall—local news led with screaming headlines about dumping laxatives in the ocean A series of community meetings organized by the company did little to placate outraged residents Wilson Hodges’s protest drew hundreds of people to a beach near the wastewater pipe Kelland later hosted a three-hour Zoom meeting for the community fielding pointed questions about ecocide and whether he would put profit over nature Protestors gathered in April 2023 to oppose Planetary’s ocean alkalinity enhancement work in St Photo by Benjamin Gilbert/SOPA Images/ZUMA Press Inc/Alamy Stock Photo were not required to notify the public of their initial experiment and decided it did not merit an official announcement The uproar months later caught Kelland off guard and he has since said that it was a mistake not to publicize the test The company’s next trial requires a so-called local enforcement position—essentially an exemption from the Environment Agency that allows South West Water to discharge magnesium hydroxide for a set amount of time If Planetary eventually decides to set up a permanent operation in St South West Water would need to apply to amend its environmental permit which requires a more in-depth review by the regulator For its initial ocean alkalinity enhancement trial in St Planetary pumped magnesium hydroxide slurry from these six vats through a wastewater pipe into the water 2.4 kilometers offshore Kelland and his team have since gone to great pains to try and make amends pledging not to sell carbon credits from the next trial and providing frequent updates on its plans the early impression of a foreign company riding roughshod over the local community has stuck Kelland began his career by building websites while getting his electrical engineering degree he spent several years looking for his next project with a vague plan to work on climate change they work for environmental NGOs and things like this,” Kelland says but it’s always been a personal side rather than a professional side.” Kelland was also mentoring Brock Battochio a like-minded student in renewable power engineering they started calling up experts to brainstorm business ideas a marine scientist at the University of California who has studied the carbon cycle for decades and started looking into ocean alkalinity enhancement around the early 2000s Rau sent Kelland and Battochio a paper he had recently cowritten about an electrogeochemical process that promised to both enhance the sea’s carbon uptake and produce renewable hydrogen Kelland was intrigued and the three men cofounded Planetary soon after Shopify had committed to buying carbon credits from what was still called Planetary Hydrogen (Planetary would later change its name and shelve the hydrogen component because it proved too complex) Planetary also drew in millions from investors including US $1-million through a competition funded by the Musk Foundation and a £250,000 (approximately US $320,000) award from the British government to research its technique It used the money to identify promising sites and Ives fear ocean alkalinity enhancement could harm the ecosystem of their bay Planetary’s founder and others insist the risks are minimal Photo by Timothy Woolcock/Alamy Stock Photo The experiment later that year was promising milky-white slurry of magnesium hydroxide into the treated wastewater at the South West Water plant On a chartered boat 2.4 kilometers offshore above the end of the wastewater pipe that stretches into the bay a team of Planetary’s own scientists and marine consultants hired by the company lowered their instruments to take measures and collect water samples comprising about four tonnes of synthetic magnesium hydroxide Planetary originally proposed adding up to 450 tonnes of ground-up brucite the company thought the site could receive as much as 40 tonnes of magnesium hydroxide per day Planetary says those volumes will now be much lower given the community pushback and input from the regulator the company originally calculated that the next trial could remove some 200 net tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the span of a year—equivalent to the annual emissions of around 43 cars carbon removal would need to reach billions of tonnes per year dreams of operating a network of sites around the world It already has a similar project underway in Halifax and is assessing the potential for another site near Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Divers working for Planetary prepare for a seafloor survey of St the company is continuing to lay the groundwork for its next trial it had a team of marine scientists dive into the bay for surveys collecting sediment and gathering data on the local ecosystem to serve as a baseline we do all this monitoring for a reason,” Kelland says “Every single site we do is going to start that way.” The bay itself spans six kilometers where it opens to the sea and is hemmed in by St which lies tucked beneath its western headland Several other towns and villages hug the sandy shore that stretches in between Ives to both the wastewater treatment plant and the pipe used by Planetary the town has been more receptive to the trial at least when measured by the barometer of hyperlocal politics Ives’s council voted to categorically oppose Planetary’s plans Hayle’s had chosen instead to support the trial (Each council covers a population of around 10,000 people these carbon-capture technologies,” says Anne-Marie Rance soft-spoken woman with degrees in geoscience and earth science and she warmed to Planetary’s idea right away She has felt compelled to defend the trial against its diehard opponents driven by a sense that the stakes reach far beyond this corner of Cornwall “If everywhere has these people and it shuts down every single experiment around the world we’re not gonna have these technologies,” she says Rance concedes that the impression left by Planetary’s initial community engagement which appeared to downplay the scale of the trial and was widely perceived as evasive and condescending the skeptics “have built up their brick walls.” has shown more support of Planetary’s work than its counterpart in St At a Hayle council meeting about sewage discharges in the fall of 2023 Wilson Hodges and others brought up Planetary’s trial instead and several people complained about her afterward Rance also feels it was improper for Wilson Hodges to introduce the council motion in St Rance herself has been accused of being inappropriately close to Planetary—for example she hosted one of the company’s early community meetings Rance says the constant conflict has taken a toll on her mental health “I wish the Environment Agency was just like Wilson Hodges is keenly aware of the bay’s role as a test bed that could influence how geoengineering proceeds around the world But rather than lending the project urgency she feels this makes a strong case for holding companies like Planetary to account and there are few established rules and procedures around ocean alkalinity enhancement “We’re a little guinea pig case study,” she says When we meet up for the first time in a café along the waterfront in St Wilson Hodges wears green rain boots and a matching wooly hat that hides her blond undercut It’s mid-December and the café is playing poppy Christmas music turnstones peck for food on the harbor wall and the low tide has stranded a handful of small boats along the pier Ives maintained a large commercial fishing fleet mostly owned by hobbyists who fish for mackerel and crawfish The town later became popular with artists and today mostly depends on tourism Many of the former fishermen’s cottages close to the harbor are now holiday homes lending the area a ghostly feel during the off-season Wilson Hodges was born into a fishing and farming family in Zennor she set up an environmental group with her friend—“This was when we thought recycling was volunteered to work for the Women’s Environmental Network She eventually grew disillusioned and pursued a career in TV before returning from London to Cornwall in 2009 to bring up her two young daughters quickly jumped into action when Planetary first publicly disclosed the details of its initial trial in St When UK-based group Extinction Rebellion started staging large-scale disruptions across Britain a few years ago in response to the climate crisis Wilson Hodges found her passion for environmental activism rekindled She started campaigning locally and filmed some of the group’s early mass protests in London she felt like there was renewed urgency around addressing climate change “I was really excited about that,” she says In the months since Planetary came to town Wilson Hodges has doggedly kept up her crusade—and managed to recruit some influential allies a former teacher and the founder of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust Sayer fell in love with seals during childhood holidays in Scotland and her network of volunteers now carries out weekly surveys of grey seals across the Cornish coast Sayer herself monitors a secluded cove that happens to be not far from the wastewater pipe she has trekked out there twice a week to survey the seals that haul out to the beach at low tide Thousands of individual seals have visited the cove over the past two decades on their migrations across the Celtic Sea Ives Bay serve as important rest stops for seals migrating across the Celtic Sea It’s like a service station on a seal motorway,” Sayer says when I visit her at the trust’s headquarters a small room on the second floor of her cottage in Hayle Sayer wears her hair in pigtails and a fringe that falls into her eyes and her house is overflowing with seal paraphernalia: books about seals The entire skeleton of a male seal named Septimus sits in the lounge downstairs “Everyone has skeletons in their closet; I have mine in my lounge,” she says dryly Sayer was initially curious about Planetary’s proposal but quickly grew alarmed as others voiced concerns and repeatedly written to the Environment Agency and local politicians She is particularly worried that Planetary has not looked closely enough at potential impacts on the bay’s fauna I like him as a bloke … And he genuinely believes what he’s doing is the right thing to do to save the planet,” she says I just want to do it safely and properly.” founder of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust is among the locals advocating for a more cautious approach to introducing ocean alkalinity enhancement some recent developments have felt like vindication signatories to the London Convention and London Protocol a pair of international agreements that regulate the dumping of waste at sea issued a general statement on marine geoengineering that warned of potential “deleterious effects that are widespread long-lasting or severe” and highlighted the uncertainty around its impacts on sea life the Environment Agency commissioned an audit of Planetary’s proposal from the Water Research Centre a technical consultancy that frequently does work for the government and the water industry It felt like a major concession to what Wilson Hodges and Sayer had been asking for: independent scrutiny of Planetary’s science and methods Wilson Hodges is nevertheless doubtful whether the audit will assuage her concerns Her initial skepticism has hardened into a steely resolve to stop the project “I’m not sure what would convince me at this point,” she admits “There’s too many questions about it and not enough solid [evidence],” agrees Johnnie Wells who stops by to share his own misgivings about the trial “You don’t wanna be the Nimby that says no,” he says “I just don’t feel like it’s gonna do what they say it is.” Ives mayor Johnnie Wells says there are “too many questions” surrounding Planetary’s plans to implement ocean alkalinity enhancement in local waters Wells suspects that Planetary is motivated by money and thinks the company’s plan to sell carbon credits will simply turn the venture into an opportunity for other companies to greenwash their practices Others in town are also deeply suspicious about the involvement of South West Water which is notorious for releasing raw sewage around Cornwall Then there’s the potential carbon footprint of the whole operation if it uses brucite that’s mined in China and processed in the United States before it’s shipped to Cornwall Wells feels that the bay’s precious environment has seen enough abuse Cornwall’s vast tin and copper mines fueled the Industrial Revolution and brought heavy pollution to the area Wells remembers growing up near the Red River which flows into the bay below the cliffs of Godrevy and for decades was dyed a deep shade of red by mining waste “We’ve suffered badly with dumped chemicals in the sea,” he says it has been an uphill battle to win back goodwill Kelland thinks a simple miscommunication fueled much of the uproar over the trial and argues that his critics are gravely misjudging the risks involved is that the magnesium hydroxide will kill some phytoplankton immediately around the wastewater pipe which he insists could be reversed by stopping the whole process “It’s not about not having any risks—that’s not a thing But you have to understand the scale of those risks,” he says “We get statements from people saying this trial could kill all things in the bay questions remain around the precise impact on marine life and the company’s ability to measure it recently admitted in yet another community meeting that the company plans to finish its baseline surveys in the bay while its next trial is already underway Planetary has been able to carry out a similar trial at its Canadian site in Halifax Harbour in the meantime the company added 280 tonnes of magnesium hydroxide to the cooling water of a gas-fired power plant before it was released back into the sea It marked one of the largest ocean alkalinity enhancement trials anywhere to date The conditions were not ideal: the strong current near the shore meant natural variability in pH was already high which made attributing any alkalinity change to the experiment more difficult But Planetary is confident it will find the evidence to show that its method works as designed alongside researchers at Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University is now analyzing the reams of data it collected on everything from the presence of sediment metals to plankton health and changes in water chemistry Planetary conducted an ocean alkalinity enhancement trial in Halifax where water shooting out of an outfall pipe causes the water to foam “You have to do the things first before you can really nail down how best to do them,” Burt says The oceans are really annoying in that way.” Kelland says it helps that Planetary is headquartered in Nova Scotia and partners with a well-known local university But the company has also clearly learned from its experience in St Kelland has repeatedly assured residents that although Planetary does not need approval from local councils the trial will only go ahead if the community is on its side “You get 300 people [protesting] out on the beach it looks like he may eventually get his wish the Environment Agency released the in-depth report it commissioned from the Water Research Centre The headline findings: the trial has the potential for significant carbon removal and likely poses very low risk to marine organisms She has started work on a documentary about the story and has continued to drum up opposition is preparing to fund her own biological monitoring if the trial goes ahead they both joined a second community protest near the wastewater pipe—almost a year to the day after their first Twenty-three boats gathered in the bay while an estimated 250 protesters waved red flags on the beach before wading into the water for a mass swim Wilson Hodges reflected on the past 12 months and all they had achieved in delaying the project stands among other protestors in April 2023 What’s clear from spending time in the region is that locals are devoted to their bay Their skepticism is understandable at a time when too many companies hide behind marketing messages while prioritizing profit over sustainability Even when projects are noble and framed with the best intentions the uncomfortable reality is that we have a track record of rushing into things with unintended consequences But it’s also clear that there is critical urgency around carbon removal If alkalization doesn’t scramble local ecosystems And governments could still decide to press on with large-scale carbon removal in the future once it becomes even more of a last resort Ives may find themselves without much of a say at all Part of the Tula Foundation and Hakai Institute family Constituents continue to show consistent concern about the distressing situation in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel OF ALL international crises, constituents continue to show consistent concern about the distressing situation in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel; and are anxious the UK government constructively supports peace initiatives, the return of remaining hostages, ending the conflict, and killing, and for a lasting peace. We met many very pleasant Israeli and Palestinian people, medics, Knesset Members, lawyers, human rights campaigners, refugees, as well as many checkpoint soldiers, security guards etc. Seeking a peaceful resolution after decades of conflict can only work if it benefits both Israelis and Palestinians. Achieving this will require a major political change and herculean diplomatic effort. I suggest a “Two Stage Solution” (rather than the “Two State Solution” proposed by others – including me till this visit). There will be no resolution to the conflict until the apartheid state is dismantled and for full democracy to be established for all. It would be based on: Comments Tel: 01579 342174[email protected]Follow us Further Links Owned or licensed to Tindle Newspapers Ltd. | Independent Family-Owned Newspapers | Copyright & Trade Mark Notice & 2013 - 2025 A controversial carbon capture scheme in St Ives has been scrapped Planetary Technologies planned to release a chemical - magnesium hydroxide - into the bay and then monitor how it affected acidity and carbon dioxide levels with hundreds of locals raising concerns about the environmental impact But the company has now said the operation was "commercially unviable" and that it would not be going ahead Campaigner Sue Sayer from the Seal Research Trust said "We're celebrating for common sense really she said campaigners were not against the principal of the idea "We were never actually opposed to it What we wanted to make sure happened was that the vital questions that needed asking were asked in order to make sure that the licensing authorities did due diligence "So we were happy for it to go ahead if it was safe but it needed to be safe and there wasn't enough evidence of that." Planetary Tech said it had "successfully completed its trial operations in Cornwall gathering valuable scientific data and insights Although the trial demonstrated great potential we have decided not to pursue a full programme in Cornwall due to commercial infeasibility "We are not currently conducting any other trials in the UK We are committed to advancing science-led carbon removal in suitable locations worldwide "We look forward to future opportunities in the UK working together to achieve our shared climate goals." Feature image above: NAB St Ives Branch Manager A NAB branch manager from St Ives helped save a customer from losing $400,000 to a sophisticated invoice scam a regular customer of the St Ives branch in NSW wanted to deposit a $400,000 cheque to his solicitor for a property purchase Dennis works in property development and had purchased property before through the same solicitor The solicitor sent an invoice via email with all the payment details and Dennis printed this off to complete the payment in the branch What Dennis or his solicitor didn’t know was criminals hacked into the solicitor’s emails and sent an identical-looking invoice even the name of the email address matched but the BSB and account number changed to a different bank Having been trained to spot red flags with invoice scams Anu Mishra said he began asking Dennis questions to ensure everything was legitimate “We’re trained to ask questions to understand the situation more and wanted to make sure the details were definitely correct,” Anu said “Some people feel like we’re being nosey by asking questions but what we’re really trying to do is to make sure customers aren’t getting caught up in a scam.” Unfortunately invoice scams can be tricky for a customer to spot as the customer has no reason to doubt the person who sent the invoice Anu asked Dennis whether he had another recent invoice to support the payment details as legitimate but he didn’t have matching documentation which was enough for Anu to slow down and wait for confirmation of the details the customer wants the payment to go through as quickly as possible it’s more important to make sure we take our time to get the details right,” Anu said While waiting for Dennis to speak to his solicitor another email came through from the solicitor’s email address urging Dennis to make the payment and when Dennis noticed a different accent on the caller it caused him to cast doubt over the authenticity of the invoice That’s when Anu decided against completing the transfer “It felt like we were being unhelpful by not making the payment that day but that’s what we needed to do to ensure we didn’t fall for the scam when scammers are trying to create a sense of urgency,” Anu said Dennis came back into the branch the following day and seemed quite shaken “He had spoken to his solicitor that morning and found out that the payment details were changed and he realised just how close he came to losing $400,000 The solicitor had no idea they’d been compromised either,” Anu said According to the ACCC Targeting Scams 2022 report also known as business email compromise or payment redirection scams cost Australians more than $224 million in 2022 The actual figure is expected to be much higher NAB runs free personal cyber security webinars to help people better protect themselves and their families from criminals Anyone can register for a webinar now to improve their personal cyber security awareness NAB has more than 60 projects underway or completed to help address the global scam epidemic please contact the NAB Media Line on 03 7035 5015 NAB’s Chadstone branch will throw open its doors for Saturday trading bringing the total number of branches open on Saturday to 31 across Australia NAB’s Chris Sheehan on why Australia’s comprehensive preventive approach to tackling scams is more sophisticated and more effective than any other country NAB’s Yeppoon team has opened the doors to the brand-new branch in the heart of the regional Queensland town following a $1.3 million investment in the community visit NAB’s Business Research and Insights Subscribe to NAB News to receive news straight to your inbox You will not receive any advertising material by signing up to receive NAB News Thank you for subscribing to NAB News to receive news straight to your inbox © National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686. 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Privacy Policy Coach John Stevens and Head Coach Murray Westren have been mightily pleased with their charges this season The UK’s only food festival held right on the sand is returning to Cornwall next month St Ives Food & Drink Festival will once again take over Porthminster Beach with a refreshed programme full of flavour The popular free-to-attend event draws thousands every year and is a key part of Cornwall’s event calendar supporting the local economy and showcasing both regional and national talent This year’s Chef’s Fire Pit will welcome a host of well-known names from the UK culinary scene chef behind Shoreditch seafood restaurant Pearly Queen View the full chef line-up on the official website Visitors can also take part in masterclasses covering everything from cooking to drinks: Jeffrey Robinson’s St Ives Cookery School will run interactive sessions Josh Quick will lead wild foraging adventures Elly Owen and Sam Lindo from Camel Valley will guide tastings of rosés A spritz masterclass will be delivered by Connie Glaze using sand-filtered vodka festivalgoers can dive into a range of wellness sessions provided by local group Mor Holan All set up right on the sands of Porthminster A new feature for 2025 is the launch of Sunset Sessions – ticketed evening performances bringing bigger names to the beach: Ferris & Sylvester – Saturday 17th May Tickets for Sunset Sessions are now available at stivesfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk Thanks to community grant funding and support from St Ives Town Council the festival is offering free cooking masterclasses for local school children aged 11-16 these sessions will teach pancake-making and how to prepare homemade chocolate sauce over an open fire on the beach The YONKERS youth team (Young Person in Cornish) will also be present in the Community Tent across the weekend gathering input from local teens on how they use town spaces and what events and opportunities they’d like to see next To find out more or stay updated, visit the official St Ives Food & Drink Festival website and website in this browser for the next time I comment Follow CornishStuff on Facebook - Like our Facebook page to get the latest news in your feed and join in the discussions in the comments. 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What's on? Cornwall's Arts and Culture Planner for Spring 2025 First Look: Space by Luxmuralis at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall Arts & Culture planner - Cornwall in April May & June 2025 Review: Mermaid of Zennor, The Minack, Cornwall Bookmark this! Best indie bookshops in Cornwall to spend your World Book Day Token Cornwall's stone circles: My fave places, Lally MacBeth & Matthew Shaw, Stone Club Don't already know how splendiferous we are? Read the Muddy Stilettos story We love to connect with like-minded brands and clients. If you’re interested in working with us click here for national and regional contacts. Whether you want to leave your feedback, ask a question or need help - click here to get in touch with us Reader Treats Terms & ConditionsRead our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions here