Solution sought to end Cockington horses row
TORBAY Council and the trust which manages Cockington are being urged to find a solution to a dispute which threatens to leave the popular tourist hot-spot village without its iconic horses and carriages.
The dispute over grazing land for the horses that pull the carriages through the village has come to a head, with operator K&H Carriages saying it will be forced to quit after this summer season if no progress is made.
The Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust says it is doing all it can to accommodate and encourage the business, but operators Kirk and Hannah Petrakis say they are not being given the help they need to survive.
Now Torbay MP Kevin Foster has been drawn into the dispute, saying: “It’s a crying shame to see where things have got to. There must be a way to solve this.”
Mr Foster called on Torbay Council, the trust and the bay’s development agency the TDA group to come up with a solution. Speaking after being shown around the grazing fields at Cockington, he said: “The horses are part of the history of Cockington. They are part of what makes it unique.
“There must be a will to make a decision, and it’s for the council and the TDA to come up with a practical plan.
“It would be a crying shame, just before the summer season we expect to be the best since the 70s, to lose such a popular part of Torbay.”
The dispute – which goes back a number of years – centres around the field the carriage company uses for grazing in winter. It ‘rotates’ the fields it uses between winter and summer for their year-round business, but the current winter field is steep and uneven, and prone to becoming overgrown with bracken and brambles.
It is also, said Mr Petrakis, too far away from the stables at Cockington Court. He said: “We’re very stressed about it all, and our mental health is suffering.
“We’ve worked really hard here for six years, but it has been a non-stop battle.”
Mr and Mrs Petrakis say the horses benefit the rest of the businesses in Cockington by attracting tourists and day-trippers, but Mr Petrakis added: “The trust doesn’t seem to care if we go. We feel as if we’re an inconvenience, but people want the horses to stay, and I feel that the people should have a voice.”
Mr and Mrs Petrakis are hoping to be allowed to use a field closer to the stables, and say they cannot go on into another winter using the current grazing fields. “If the worst came to the worst, we’d have to sell Cowboy and Annie,” said Mr Petrakis, “but they are like family to us. We need somebody to take the bull by the horns and fight for us.”
A spokesman for the trust said: “Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust has not changed the grazing made available to the Cockington carriages since the current operators, Mr and Mrs Petrakis, started their business some six years ago.
“We have actually expended resources on replacing fencing and clearing bracken and scrub from the grazing fields. We also met the full cost of re-seeding and restoring the summer grazing land, after it was severely damaged by the current carriage operator’s horses.
“We are at a loss to understand why Mr and Mrs Petrakis are making unfounded claims about being denied access to grazing when TCCT has done no such thing, and have instructed our agents to engage with Mr and Mrs Petrakis.”
The TDA group stated: “TDA values the presence of a viable carriage operator working from the site and will work with all parties towards securing an appropriate long-term solution in support of that aim.”
Torbay Council leader Steve Darling said it was “extremely important” to find a solution.
“The smell of horses is what makes Cockington special,” he said. “That’s what Cockington is all about, and to lose them would be awful.
“We need to find a solution, and the council is willing to bend over backwards to support these traders, and make sure we keep the carriages and horses in Cockington.
“We are trying to intervene positively, and find a way forward.
“This is a conversation that needs to happen between the tenant, the trust and the TDA.”