New row over West Kirby Sail project

Nov 5 2008 by Carrie Catterall, Heswall News

A RAGING debate over West Kirby’s The Sail project developed as its developers faced the wrath of almost 200 people.

The public piled into Westbourne Hall last Tuesday to discuss the controversial plans to build a new sailing school and four-star boutique hotel on the marine lake.

According to the chairman, Cllr Gerry Ellis, the West Wirral area forum meeting was the only chance to discuss the proposal as its developers at Carpenter Investments would not hold a public meeting.

Jim Wilkie, deputy chief executive of Wirral Council, told the crowd he would have to present his findings on The Sail to cabinet by the end of the year - at which time a decision on whether it would be carried forward would be made.

One member of the public argued: “We have not seen fully completed plans for this proposal yet, so I don’t understand how a really important decision about it can be made.”

Overwhelming criticism included a claim that the developers’ public exhibition of the project at West Kirby Concourse in June was “a joke”.

David Brewitt, of Carpenter Investments, said: “I have sat here and listened to this long enough. We have consulted with and listened to the public for months and we are very keen to deliver something fantastic here - but if it’s not wanted, we won’t do it.”

West Kirby councillor Geoffrey Watt added: “In the last vote we held, 92% of the West Kirby public were against it.

“We are going to try and get officers and cabinet to take what we believe as the right decision - if they don’t listen to us, then we might as well give up.”