A proposal to develop a huge seafood park at Newlyn Coombe is expected to go before planners in the next few months.

The scheme, drawn up by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), is a key plank of Newlyn's regeneration proposals.

It may include buildings totalling 70,000 square feet and parking for 145 vehicles.

The plan could also involve road changes at The Coombe and the A30.

Tony Williams, who lives at Elm Cottage, Trereife, said this week that he was appalled.

"As far as I understand it, they want to increase the amount of fish that is processed locally, so they have come up with this Seafood Park to be built on a green field alongside The Coombe. There is also room for expansion."

The plan was part of the public consultation over the proposed regeneration, but Mr Williams thinks that people have concentrated so much on the harbour plans that they have not picked up on the Seafood Park.

"I have been told that SWRDA will be putting in for outline planning permission in the next couple of months but I don't know how true that is," he said.

Tony Woodhams, Newlyn Fisheries Project Officer, said the Seafood Park was linked to the regeneration of Newlyn and needed to go ahead to make the rest of the scheme work.

He pointed out that 90 per cent of the fish landed in Newlyn went straight out of the county 'without touching the sides'.

The Seafood Park would mean fresh fish landed at Newlyn could be processed in the port.

Some £19.5 million worth of fish went though Newlyn and 750 jobs were dependent on the industry. "If that collapses I don't know how we would replace those jobs in Penwith," he said. "This way we would keep the jobs and infrastructure. We have the best fish in the world but at the moment we are just sending it straight out of the area."

Stephen Bohane, the Regional Development Agency's head of operations in Cornwall, said: "The Newlyn Seafood Park is an agreed priority for the RDA and Objective One as we see the need to develop a project that will add value to the catch and bring better quality jobs to West Cornwall.

"There is nothing new in these plans and up to now we have had strong support for the Newlyn Seafood Park as the priority for RDA investment in the area.

"Green field consent has been obtained from the Government Office South West because of the lack of alternative brown field sites in the area. We are currently looking at options for the Seafood Park and are in discussions with Cornwall's highways department about appropriate access for the site."

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