Campaigners are staging a demonstration at Whipsiderry Beach on Saturday to oppose work being carried out to concrete the cliffs.

The Save Whipsiderry Cliffs Public Group plans to hold a peaceful protest at 12 noon to publicly ask the Duchy of Cornwall for their support. 

The Duchy has temporarily suspended a licence it gave to developer LQP Porth Limited to carry out cliff stabilisation works from the beach so that discussions can be held to ensure the work can take place in a safe manner following the Health and Safety Executive advising that the fenced off safety exclusion zone around the work should be extended. 

Work has had to be halted on several occasions following protestors being too close to the machinery. Security employed by the developer have also been allegedly forcibly removing campaigners.

The Save Whipsiderry Cliffs Public Group is now appealing to the Duchy to fully engage with the local community and stop the works permanently. 

The cliff reinforcement works, which involves excavating sea caves with heavy machinery, drilling into the rock and inserting steel rods and filling the caves with concrete, including part of the cliff face above, are needed to enable seven luxury villas to be built on the clifftop above at the former Paradise Cove Hotel.

Andrew Robey, a spokesperson for the Save Whipsiderry Cliffs Public Group, said: “After the suspension of the licence by the Duchy of Cornwall, for which we are very thankful, many members of the public thought that it was over, and we’d won. This is far from the truth.

“The licence suspension is temporary, so can be reinstated at any time by the Duchy, which will then allow the developer access to the beach to continue the works. 

“The gathering is to allow the community to demonstrate their passion for this beautiful environment and collectively communicate to The Duchy of Cornwall that we wish them to support us. 

“We invite the Duchy representatives to join us on the beach and personally experience the love and care the community have for Whipsiderry and listen to the reasons why we want it to remain wild.

“The Duchy of Cornwall states that “Sustainable Stewardship” is one of their core strategic objectives and they have a responsibility to “manage their estate in a way that is sustainable, financially viable and of meaningful value to the local community.”

“By holding this gathering, the group is publicly offering The Duchy an opportunity to make good on these objectives and act now to support sustainability, the environment and the community. 

 “With the King’s imminent Coronation, and associated public focus on the Royal Family and their estates, now is the time for the Duchy Of Cornwall to act. 

“We are confident the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, and HRH King Charles himself, would be horrified to be associated with this environmental vandalism on the Duchy estate.

“Everyone is welcome to attend the peaceful community gathering and we encourage celebration, banners, picnics, music and fun. 

“April 1 is also a significant day, as it’s the beginning of the block-out period for the cliff stabilisation work to occur, as the Marine Management Organisation licence specifies this can only be undertaken between September 1 and March 31 inclusive. 

This is due to the presence of breeding and nesting birds on the cliff, so the public gathering will be a celebration of the start of the breeding season too.

Meanwhile Newquay businesses have come forward to offer their support to the Save Whipsiderry Cliffs Public group. 

The group launched a Design A Sign Competition to encourage local children to get behind their campaign to prevent the concreting of the cliffs and made an appeal to local businesses to donate prizes. 

The prize giving took place at The Mermaid Inn at Porth on Saturday where all the signs designed by local children were on display. 

The winning designs have been printed onto weather-proof signs by PJ Print and will be displayed at Whipsiderry to draw attention to The Save Whipsiderry Cliffs campaign.