Cornwall might be best known for pasties and arguments about jam, but it may soon be home to the UK's link to the space race as Spaceport Cornwall has been awarded an operating license and is set to start launching satellites into orbit. Located between St Columb Major and Mawgan Porth, the spaceport will operate from Cornwall Airport Newquay.
While many people in the local area are excited to be at the forefront of the space race, some fear the impact it may have on the already struggling community. Many report being unable to find housing or meaningful work, let alone access to a dentist, GP, or hospital, and one resident who lived under the flightpath of the new spaceport said that Cornwall was already at 'breaking point', describing the area as 'crippled'.
The spaceport project is expected to bring £3.8 billion to the UK economy over the next decade, and local residents are hoping that some of that can be used to pay for vital services that are urgently required - sooner rather than later.
What do you think about Spaceport Cornwall? Let us know in the comments....
The Civil Aviation Authority announced that the site near Newquay can be used for sending satellites into space, and the first mission is expected to be conducted by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson 's Virgin Orbit company in the coming weeks.
A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft named Cosmic Girl and Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket travelled from California in the US to Spaceport Cornwall last week.
The 747 will take off horizontally while carrying the rocket, before releasing it at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.
But as the rocket becomes a distant memory for many, local residents in Cornwall are hoping the spaceport will bring a change in attitudes to funding for the South West county.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Zoe Lobb, 32, a business owner from St Teath, with three children, said: "The area is already crippled, I think we're at breaking point already - what harm could the spaceport do.
"Housing is already an issue, and people that move here to work will need somewhere to live. There's already a lack of housing, there's more that needs to be done.
"It's awful, it's either really expensive or you can't find anywhere to rent.
"People who were renting their homes ended up selling during covid as prices went up and they wanted to cash in. That meant more people needed emergency housing and the council didn't have enough - people have to go somewhere.
"When we were looking for somewhere to live, houses were going in minutes."
Zoe, who runs a furniture painting business in St Columb Major, said she wasn't against the spaceport and described it as "exciting" for the area.
She continued: "I'm not averse to it, it's a bit different for the area - I hope it becomes an employer of local people.
"I think it is an exciting thing for Cornwall, there's a lot of people in the area who end up moving away - it's something for local people to aspire towards.
"There's nothing wrong with businesses doing something different.
"I think they will probably employ people from London but there will be jobs for local people who go down that route."
Georgina Barnecutt, 40, a librarian from St Columb Major, said: "We don't need a spaceport, but it's good for us - Cornwall is very much about tourism and the spaceport isn't about tourism at all. It's good for us to get it, rather than London.
"It would be nice if money was spent on a new hospital, but the Government do what they want. More money could be spent on services for the people - we need another hospital and there are not enough GPs, maybe the money could have been spent on that first.
"Housing is an issue for everyone, whether we have the spaceport or not. There's not enough for everyone, if it's people coming down here to work that's fair enough - it's the second homeowners I don't like.
"If it brings work here that's great, the skilled jobs will likely be filled from elsewhere but there will be jobs for local people, in cleaning and so on.
"I'm really excited about it, I think it's brilliant, but you know, it's difficult - if it ends up costing local people money that's no good, our council tax is always going up to cover things and there's already talk about it going up again, to cover the cost of the services we need to keep going."
After the 747 drops the rocket over the Atlantic Ocean, the plane will return to the spaceport, while the rocket will ignite its engine and take multiple small satellites into orbit with a variety of civil and defence applications.
They will be the first satellites launched into space from Europe. Satellites produced in the UK have previously needed to be sent to foreign spaceports to get them into space.
The mission has been given the title Start Me Up in tribute to British band The Rolling Stones, and Sam Richards, 22, a local town clerk, believes Cornwall is "lucky" to be at the forefront of the next steps toward space.
He said: "It's going to be really good for scientific advancement in the UK and it will be good for the local economy too.
"It's far enough away so I'm not worried about the sound of it, the airport doesn't bring any issues to the town and it's just next door.
"It's likely that it will bring employees from outside the country, they have the thing with Virgin down there, a lot of Americans have come over to assist with it.
"I can't see any reason against it - it will open up jobs for the local community, and it might encourage people, especially young people, to go into that kind of thing - astrophysics, or whatever it is.
"The issues that we have with GPs and dentists - the services are stretched because of a lack of funding and resources, the spaceport doesn't help but I don't see it doing much more harm than is already being done.
"It's something that needs addressing but I don't feel like it should undermine the benefits we will get from something like the spaceport."
Spaceport Cornwall is one of seven spaceports being developed across Britain, and the first vertical space launch is expected to take place next year from the planned SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst in Shetland.
The locations for four other proposed spaceports in Scotland are: the A' Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland; Prestwick in South Ayrshire; Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute; and North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
Another spaceport has been planned at Llanbedr, Gwynedd, in North Wales.
In Cornwall, the spaceport is located at Cornwall Airport Newquay, the main commercial airport for the south-west county.
Angie Clements, 44, from St Austell, said: "We don't even have a proper airport, I have to say.
"Newquay Airport doesn't do a lot of flights but they go to space now. Recently they announced flights to Malaga and somewhere else. They do a lot of internal flights.
"But now they go to space, while we have to go to Bristol to go to normal places.
"Usually you hear of spaceports in America, so it's good to have one in Cornwall. There's not a lot around here."
Kim Kroft, 61, a truck driver, was also in favour of the Spaceport. He said: "I'm all for it, it gives people something to do.
"Gps, dentists, schools, hospitals, we need all that stuff in Cornwall. But Branson can do what he wants.
"People will be able to work there, there aren't enough jobs right now. A lot of people are struggling to work, there are not enough opportunities going on."
But not every resident was keen. One anonymous local said: "There's nothing you can do about it, they're building 200 houses just up the road, the hospital is full up and I can't get a dentist appointment even though I live right across the road from one.
"There isn't enough of the stuff that we need.
"There's always been a division of wealth, you get people in St Ives and compare them to St Columb - there's a huge difference.
"Branson does what he wants, we need a new hospital - but we won't get one."
And another resident, who asked not to be named, said: "It's absolute b******s , it's a total waste of money. We need real services for real people, what good does it do to send a satellite to space when you can't get your children to the hospital? I'm sorry, but it's terrible."
Richard Moriarty, Civil Aviation Authority chief executive, described the awarding of the first spaceport licence in the UK as "an historic moment".
He went on: "We're proud to be playing our part in facilitating the UK's space ambitions through assessing the safety, security and other requirements of these activities.
"This is another major milestone to enable this country to become a leading launch nation."
Transport Secretary Mark Harper, who was required to give consent to the regulator to issue the licence, said the "cosmic cornerstone is being laid for the UK's first orbital space launch".
He added: "Virgin Orbit's planned launch reinforces our position as a leading space nation as we look to the future of spaceflight, which can spur growth and innovation across the sector, as well as creating thousands of jobs and apprenticeships."
Louis Gardner, from Cornwall Council, said: "Spaceport Cornwall is about investing in Cornwall's future. By enabling the first satellite launch spaceport in Europe, we are creating more well-paid jobs and inspiring our young people to pursue a career in space technology.
"Cornwall's economy relies on a narrow set of sectors, and we want to invest in projects and areas that create highly paid jobs and help diversify our economy."
A spokesperson that the spaceport is predicted to bring 150 direct jobs by 2025, adding £200m 'Gross Value Added' to the economy, and will act 'as a catalyst for wider growth in associated sectors which use space derived data and applications'.
They stated that the Council's funding has come from existing budgets and has been invested solely in Cornwall Airport Newquay as an existing Cornwall Council asset.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
