PROOF YOU CAN KEEP IT LOCAL AND DO IT RIGHT!
When you are born and bred within 2 miles of Carlyon Bay, and it’s where you watched your first gig (Showaddywaddy), went to your first night club (Quasars), and have so many memories it’s always going to be somewhere that stirs up passion. So when I had the initial conversation with Jacky Swain of Commercial Estates Group about the possibility of a pop up restaurant on the beach, you can understand why I, and subsequently everyone else, has got so excited about it. Once I had spoken to Sam and Emma Sixton about it (whose eyes lit up like rabbits in the headlights!) then the ball was well and truly rolling. Now it has happened and Sam and Emma are about to open Sams at the Bay and kick start the regeneration of this much loved beach for all of us who have such fond memories and want to see it flourish again.
But what sets this project apart from the rest, and makes it truly remarkable in this modern age, is that the whole thing has been put together using local businesses and tradesman. Not just based exclusively in Cornwall, but 95% of them coming from a 10 mile radius of the site. The attached image and key show where the talent has come from and shows that St Austell and the surrounding areas has a wealth of expertise which is not only local, but of the highest quality and service as well. The fact that this project has come out of the sand in less than 3 weeks since the container touched down is testament to the hard work and dedication of the same businesses.
How did it happen? Here is the journey so far……….
CEG met with Tevy Ltd and had initial discussions. They met with Sams Fowey Ltd and the decision was made. GE Licensing applied for the Premises License and Restormel Insurance Services provided the necessary insurances and once they were in place it was full steam ahead. Sam and Emma decided to convert a shipping container into a kitchen so went to Withiel Containers. They delivered to Mark Brewer Engineering who did the conversion of the container while Parc Signs provided the sign writing and branding. Then Evely Electrical fitted it out and when it was up and running, the container had a brief holiday at Somersault Festival. When it came back to its new home on Crinnis Beach, landscaped by John Dace Building Services, it couldn’t get it into position. Enter Henry Orchard and Sons who provided the expertise and crane to drop the container into place. From then it became the vision of Nautilus Design and Wheelbarrow Garden Services to transform a patch of sand into a Beach Bar and Restaurant. Mark Richards Plant Hire provided the extra landscaping so the building could start, AMPS Electrical provided the power, and Walter Bailey Ltd provided the building materials to get the project going as well as the picnic benches for the customers to sit on! Sailshape of Fowey provided the awning over the Container but there was still a need for a covered area for the rare occasion the Cornish Weather needed keeping out. Hewaswater Engineering provided the solution and it was nearly there. Pip Turner Carpentry provided the finishing touches all the way round, Emma Griffin Photography captured the progress then it was back to Sam and Emma to provide the finishing touches to make it ready for opening!
As a story about the regeneration of Carlyon Bay, this is remarkable enough. But to be able to achieve all this, in such a short period of time, using exclusively Cornish and predominantly local business, is a true reflection on what a fantastic, vibrant and dedicated business community there is in this county and particularly the local area. It also shows that any project, with the right thought process and management, can not only contribute to the local economy but spread that contribution across the entire area. This, I believe, should become a model for future developments in the area and is the way everyone should look to run their projects in order to give maximum benefit to all in the area chosen. I am immensely proud to have been part of this project from start to finish for the reasons I stated at the beginning of this, but I am even more proud of the fact that it has been done Keeping it Local and Doing it Right!
