In July 2005 I moved from the town centre to Europa Point to what later became dubbed ‘the last house in Europe’ one of the old Lighthouse Keepers’ Cottages right on the edge of the cliff. I had been a frequent visitor to Europa Point, back then a washed out piece of wilderness with the famous ‘Much Cheapness’ shop, the cricket pitch, Nun’s Well, and not much else. I wasn’t the only person who made use of the area, the place was always full of tourist coaches, people walking their dogs, kids learning how to ride bikes; Europa Point was one of the only piece of open flat land available to roam about as one pleased. My first summer was marvellous; I had just had a baby so spent the afternoons walking around the coastal paths. I visited the Shrine, St. Bernard’s Church and the Mosque, discovered the indispensable NAAFI shop and the little playgrounds and grassy patches in the Bleak House area. Then winter came…
Nobody, apart from Terry Jesty the lighthouse keeper, can understand what the weather is like at Europa Point. Bus drivers have got quite a good idea as they have to drive there on the No 2 route, so too Taxi drivers, the bin men and the postmen, but those of us with ‘the knowledge’ are few. When the levanter is at its most fierce the waves are so huge they can reach right over to the far end of the cricket pitch so you can imagine what it is like being in the cottages. Salt rain, relentless gale-force winds, nothing survives apart from the hardiest of succulents and the Tamarisk tree. I had a quaint idea that I could plant out a nice little garden full of geraniums and ferns, impossible. My years of experience have taught me that those plants will all die come winter, along with anything made of metal. Back then we had a satellite dish which the man assured me would stand firm on its galvanised arm, it soon rusted and snapped in half. Even chrome items and stainless steel appliances INSIDE the house go rusty; the salt is everywhere, it is constantly in the air and it is ruthless. All metal outside has to be covered in mechanical grease in order to survive which is what had to be done with the dish. When a storm passes we have to wash down our houses immediately and vehicles from top to bottom with fresh water otherwise the salt rots. Maintenance in the area is a full time job but our cottages were designed by clever architects who built all the Trinity Lighthouse Cottages in the British Isles and they were made to withstand a very hostile environment, and so they have stood the test of time, over 170 years.
In 2007 the then Government announced plans to refurbish the area and I wasted no time in contacting the Minister asking if my neighbours and I could have some input and give advice. He agreed and we were kept in the loop and sent plans. In our opinion the designs were completely flawed and I drew up alternative ones and presented them at a meeting to which we were all invited. Nobody wanted to listen to us, in fact we were treated very harshly and my neighbours and I were constantly interrupted, what did we know? We argued about the new metal railings, the drainage systems, the site of the bus stop, the idea to build a two-storey glass structure on the footprint of the old shop. The replanting of the mound on Harding’s Battery was a waste of time and money as the plants would all perish (which they did) and the design of the through-road was all wrong. Sadly in time we were all proved right, the metal railings are rusting away and need to be maintained, the bus has to divert from the last stop in bad weather causing great inconvenience to passengers, and the exit road system does not work well. The first storm washed away all the plants on the mound and mud came pouring down the hill and flooded all our houses, we spent days washing out red muck and drying everything out. Finally the contractors returned and changed all the drainage systems to what we had told them to do in the first place but it took months of frustrating emails. Years on and some things have still not been rectified from the bodge-job that was the Europa Point refurbishment. At least the glass building never happened but instead the area is a wasteland half-surrounded by hoarding and looks dreadful, every spate of high winds blowing down yet another panel.
Fast-forward to 2014 and the proposed stadium plans at Europa Point. It was clear from the outset that the architects had no idea about the adverse weather conditions in the area and it pained me to think that so much money had been spent on such a glamorous and lavish presentation when the basics had not even been considered. There are not three access and exit roads, there are two exits and three access but often these are closed during bad weather due to rock falls and floods. Our houses are one-storey so they are relatively easy to wash down and repaint, anything higher than that requires a serious and costly maintenance programme and any glass has to washed down regularly. When a group of us presented our objections to the Development and Planning Commission in April 2014 it was depressingly obvious that the architects had not researched their project and their representative was visibly flummoxed when questioned, he had no convincing answers as there were none.
Many factors made up the arguments to stop the building of the stadium: the loss of the beautiful Victorian lighthouse as a functioning navigational light; the ruination of a beauty spot; the transport issue; the necessity at all for a gigantic stadium; the fact that public land was being gifted to a private association. There was immense public outcry and 8000 signatures from local residents were collected, we never gave up the fight and eventually we were listened to. That was the most important outcome, the people spoke and those in power took heed.
Three years on and after a lot of stress and unnecessary aggravation, our national football ground will finally be constructed on the site of the existing Victoria Stadium , always the best and most obvious site. The new plans for the sporting facilities at Europa Point are fine in idea but I would urge the designers to think very carefully about what they build. An east-facing metal wall and a flimsy-looking roof will not fare well, and those ‘lollipop’ tress are a no-no! Architects can get carried away with their computer programs and would do well to come down to the area when it is at its worst so they can fully understand the impact of the elements. My suggestion would be to use our own and readily available limestone, much like the eastern pathways by Brewery Gap which were built by the Royal Engineers in 1969 and still look good today; and let’s be honest stone looks far nicer that rusty metal.
Construction is an expensive business and difficult to rectify when problems arise so we must ensure that the design is correct at the beginning. The thought of having much-needed new sporting facilities and Lathbury and Europa is a very exciting prospect but we must not rush into it headlong. We need to do things properly so they look good and last a long time. The preliminary plans need a rethink and I hope those involved take note, it is no comfort saying “I told you so”.
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