During the period 4th to 10th August 2006, we invited some of the United Kingdom's 500,000 surfers to register their objections to the proposed Wave Hub, a Wave Farm to be located off the coast of Cornwall.

In just one week, we, and Carve magazine, received over 600 heartfelt objections. We printed these out and submitted to the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, politely requesting that the 'Wave Hub' proposals be subjected to a Public Enquiry. We reproduce a typical selection of objections below:

On the 17th September, the Secretary of State wrote to the South West of England Regional development Agency to confirm that Planning Approval for the project had been granted. We urge our 500,000 surfers in the UK to remember this when the time comes for a general election!

I am utterly disgusted at hearing this. I visit cornwall around 4-5 times a year, and frequently surf in the effected area. there are so many ways to generate green energy, why choose the one that could ruin a lot of businesses in the locale! why not just build more wind farms

I believe there is no reason for them to be placed near Hayle. Why not place them further out to sea, or near the south of ireland/where it will not effect the north cornwall swell lines? Anyway arnt there other ocean/tide power options? like for instance those ones they have in scotland, where the swell and waves crash against these giant pads and create kinetic energy. they dont/wont effect any of the oncoming surf.

For an area of the UK that is already poorly invested in, how will the Wave Hub directly benefit the local economies it effects?
How many local jobs will it provide, and for how long?
What long term benefit will this provide the local economy?
This idea provides 5% of cornwall's energy for an 11% impact to the wave height.
Does this mean that to truly make this venture economic and provide 50% of Cornwall's energy, the Wave hub would need to be expanded into neighbouring counties effecting up to 99% of the overall wave height?
This technology is obviously green and worth investigtaing, but I do not think the impact assessment is detailed enough or even proven. More research is required for either alternative sites or proof that this type of scheme is low impact to local communities.

The surf in Cornwall is special, to the young and not so young it defines Cornwall in todays world.
Any man engineered project that potentially will detract from the energy of the waves should not be allowed to go ahead. It would appear to me that there are many other areas with similar swells of the coast of the UK that would not cast energy sapping shadows on so many famous and treasured surf beaches.

It seems that the sustainable energy source of wind has not been mastered yet - why bother with wave energy? Invest the money, time and contacts into improving windfarms that do not have impacts on local economies - the detriement to surf, which is an economy and education piece in itself has not been considered.

This project is ill conceived with not enough consideration given to the balance between renewable energy and the economic needs of a deprived area.
The simple fact of the matter is that the waves are already being used.
Why not the west coast of Scotland? Where the economic impact would be lessened?
Oh you cant can you, Scotland isnt part of the UK any more!!

You cannot and should not change nature and all activities around nature but if to avoid catastrophies then let them save us.

Cornwall's surf is one of this countries most valuable leisure and tourism resources. There are many places around Britain with a good ground swell but no real usuable surf from a surfer's point of view due to poor wave shape or coastal geographic considerations, that would however be ideal for sites for a wave hub. The West Coast of Scotland is one of these places that attracts a large Atlantic swell but due its steep cliffs and rocky coves has few surfable beaches. This is but one example. The government should give consideration to siting its wave hubs in these areas instead of risking the tourism and leisure resources provided by Britains surfing beaches. Any difference between the amounts of electricity generated is likely to be minimal, but the effects on tourism and leisure and local economies of an adverse effect on Britains surfing beaches is likely to be of major consequence. The government should rethink its plans therefore and resite its hubs on exposed and swell
prone coasts away from Britains surfing areas.

There are better locations for the hub without the risk of destroying Cornwall's largest industry.. Surfing!!

Reduction of wave height is not only a bad prospect for local surfers, but also lowers the reputation of the area as a whole, as a surfing capital.
Local businesses will suffer as a result of inevitable reduced tourism to the area. Perhaps a more suitable position for the the hub would be off Land's End, to affect as little surfing beaches as possible, rather than off several main local spots and surf-tourism centres.

I object to the wavehub as it will adversely affect surfing conditions, and decrease wave size.

We do need to find renewable sources of energy however it will effect peoples livelihoods, also our enjoyment of the surf, why not build the hubs on parts of the Norfolk coast line which are threatened by erosion? This would not only provide most of the power but also protect Norfolks coast line, but hey why not build them in places which round the country where erosion is a problem as long as it does not effect our surfing conditions... ie dont build them where we want to surf.

I feel it would be better placed elsewhere, ie Scotland as the good surfing beaches are overcrowded as it is without taking several important ones away. It may also put off holiday makers.

Although I live in Plymouth, I surf the north coast of cornwall very frequently, and my complaint would be that the surf doesn't often get to a size that I would consider good, say above 5 foot, and so any reduction in wave height is a bad thing in my opinion.

I object to the proposed development because it will obviously reduce the swell height around that area, which will not only reduce a lot of locals fun throughout the year, it will also potentially reduce tourism in the area. Gwithian for example is a hugely popular location for summer tourist surfers and if their numbers were to decrease with the waves, so would the affluence of the area!

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