Freedom of Information Request – Morwellham Quay
Over the past year, West Devon Borough Council has received one Freedom of Information request regarding Morwellham Quay. This requested a breakdown of how the Council monies allocated to Morwellham Quay have been spent over the past three years.
The following response was sent in December 2009:-
Thank you for your request of information regarding Morwellham Quay.
The Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust went into administration on 25th September 2009. West Devon Borough Council had loans outstanding of £145,000 with the Trust, at the date of administration. These loans are secured against the property assets.
The first loan of £20,000 was provided to the Trust in November 2006 to assist with cashflow difficulties.
The second loan of £125,000 was provided to the Trust in March to April of 2007. A sum of £100,000 was used by the Trust to pay off the bank loan which the Trust had with their Bank. The remaining £25,000 was used to meet further cashflow difficulties.
In addition to West Devon Borough Council, Devon County Council has also provided loans to the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust and you may wish to separately contact them regarding the same question.
West Devon Borough Council is the responsible Council for the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage (TVMH) project. The purpose of this project is to improve and better manage the environment of the West Devon part of the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In doing so, the project addresses concerns about the contamination and safety issues relating to the legacy of the Mining Heritage in the valley. It is also designed to improve existing and provide additional visitor attractions and facilities (in particular at Morwellham Quay), while helping to regenerate the local economy.
At the present time, it is premature to provide full accounts for the TVMH Project, as discussions with the Heritage Lottery Funding and other parties including Devon County Council are still taking place. The position will be clearer early next year when the results of the administrator’s proposed sale of the property is known.