:00:08. > :00:12.Hello and welcome to Inside Out South West. Coming up in tonight's
:00:12. > :00:15.programme: on the eve of a Royal visit, new questions over the Duke
:00:15. > :00:18.of Cornwall's influence in public life. He has been given privileged
:00:18. > :00:23.access to our lawmaking for which he is not accountable and which is
:00:23. > :00:28.opaque. That can't be right. stately home makeover in Somerset -
:00:28. > :00:33.David Stafford gets stuck in. all coming down in bits. And can
:00:33. > :00:38.miners really find rich pickings in Cornwall? You can do the maths and
:00:39. > :00:48.it comes out at billions of dollars of value. I am Sam Smith and this
:00:49. > :00:58.
:00:59. > :01:03.Prince Charles is due in the South West tomorrow. He's visiting the
:01:03. > :01:07.Navy here in Plymouth in his role as Admiral of the Fleet. But it is
:01:07. > :01:10.his position at the head of the Duchy of Cornwall that has been
:01:10. > :01:20.making recent headlines. We've been investigating a right royal
:01:20. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:30.controversy that is rooted here in The Duchy was created seven
:01:30. > :01:36.Tens of thousands of acres were set aside to provide the heir to the
:01:36. > :01:46.throne with an income. The current beneficiary and head of the Duchy
:01:46. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :01:56.Today, the Duchy is still a major landowner. It also owns 160 miles
:01:56. > :02:06.of coastline and much of the It owns 3500 properties that it
:02:06. > :02:07.
:02:07. > :02:17.rents out, including one very And it raises income from
:02:17. > :02:21.
:02:21. > :02:25.The Duchy of Cornwall owns the river bed of the Tamar and rents
:02:25. > :02:29.the airspace above it to the Tamar Bridge company. All this activity
:02:29. > :02:33.helps boost the personal fortune of the Duke of Cornwall. Last year to
:02:33. > :02:43.the tune of just over �18 million on which he voluntarily paid tax of
:02:43. > :02:45.
:02:45. > :02:47.�5m. Some would argue the Duchy benefits our region's fortunes too.
:02:47. > :02:57.Since being proclaimed Duke in 1973, Prince Charles special relationship
:02:57. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:02.with the region has been reflected And last year, the Duchy donated
:03:02. > :03:10.just over half a million pounds to charity, some of it to south west
:03:10. > :03:13.But despite the undoubted good works done by the Duchy, there are
:03:13. > :03:19.concerns here in the south west that it may be exploiting its
:03:19. > :03:26.special status in a way that's not in the public interest. In fact
:03:26. > :03:33.some people are asking, is the The answer is a regrettable, yes,
:03:33. > :03:37.for Mike Bruton. Mike grew up in the village of Port Navas on the
:03:37. > :03:43.Helford river in Cornwall. The beauty of the area draws tourist
:03:43. > :03:46.and second home owners but the only outsiders Mike objects to are these.
:03:46. > :03:53.Pacific oysters, a foreign species first brought into the Helford for
:03:53. > :03:57.cultivation in the 70s. Mike's been campaigning about their presence
:03:57. > :04:00.here for years. We are here to protect the environment, all of us,
:04:00. > :04:03.because we want to pass on the beautiful river and Fell to the
:04:03. > :04:11.next generation and we don't really want an invasive species like the
:04:11. > :04:16.The Duchy owns the river bed here and leases oyster farming rights to
:04:16. > :04:21.a private company. The oysters are fattened up in bags on trestles and
:04:21. > :04:25.then exported to France. There is no suggestion the company which
:04:25. > :04:28.farms them or its Duchy landlord is doing any damage to the river. The
:04:28. > :04:34.fishery continues a long tradition of oyster farming here and provides
:04:34. > :04:36.jobs. But along the shore are pacific's living wild, and the fear
:04:36. > :04:43.is that if their spread is unchecked, they could colonise the
:04:43. > :04:47.river at the expense of other valued species. And then there is
:04:47. > :04:55.the equipment. At this spot, old trestles and oyster bags lie
:04:55. > :04:59.seemingly abandoned, an eyesore as I think it is appalling conduct on
:04:59. > :05:01.behalf of the Duchy. It doesn't particularly help the Duke of
:05:01. > :05:04.Cornwall who is a renowned environmentalist because we have
:05:04. > :05:07.the Duke of Cornwall, quite rightly saying, we need to protect our
:05:07. > :05:16.environment for future generations and the Duchy of Cornwall doing
:05:16. > :05:23.The Helford is covered by one of the highest form of environmental
:05:23. > :05:27.designation. It's a special area of conservation. But who legally is
:05:27. > :05:30.responsible for protecting that special area? Elsewhere it would be
:05:30. > :05:33.something like a harbour authority but the Duchy says it's not any
:05:33. > :05:40.kind of authority, it's just a landowner, so not legally
:05:40. > :05:49.responsible for protecting the Unchecked, the Pacific oyster can
:05:49. > :05:52.be a problem? Once they reach a It's a complex legal point but one
:05:52. > :05:56.which concerns the government's environmental watchdog.
:05:56. > :05:59.position as we see it is if you go to another estuary, for example,
:05:59. > :06:06.there is maybe a harbour authority and they have statutory powers to
:06:06. > :06:08.put in place laws to protect the site. What we have in the Helford
:06:08. > :06:16.is no clear strategy responsibility because of the uncertainty around
:06:16. > :06:19.the Duchy's role and their legal position. That is because, in
:06:19. > :06:23.respect of the Helford, the Duchy says, "We are not any kind of
:06:23. > :06:25.authority here, we are just a private landowner." They have no
:06:26. > :06:32.statutory responsibility in putting bylaws or taking management of the
:06:32. > :06:41.site. How satisfactory is that? is good when it is working well but
:06:41. > :06:43.it leaves a slight uncertainty if Mike believes that when it comes to
:06:43. > :06:49.protecting the Helford, the Duchy is effectively a public authority
:06:49. > :06:54.and should share its environmental information. So he took his case to
:06:54. > :06:57.a tribunal, and the judge ruled in his favour. But the Duchy has now
:06:57. > :07:06.challenged that decision, leaving those who want to protect the
:07:06. > :07:12.Helford worried about the future. It is tragedy. There are worst
:07:12. > :07:17.tragedies like chopping down the Brazilian rainforest but it is our
:07:17. > :07:21.own personal tragedy, environmental What is the Helford really going to
:07:21. > :07:23.be like for the next generation? The Duchy says it takes its
:07:23. > :07:26.environmental responsibilities seriously and that it works with
:07:26. > :07:29.its tenants, in this case the oyster farm, to ensure that they
:07:29. > :07:39.comply with regulations, but this isn't the only place it's found
:07:39. > :07:40.
:07:40. > :07:46.Nowhere in the south west are ordinary citizens more beholden to
:07:46. > :07:51.the Duchy than here, the Isles of Scilly. The Duchy owns the freehold
:07:51. > :07:56.of most of the land and a third of all homes. Alan Davis leases his
:07:56. > :08:02.Duchy home in the historic Garrison area on St Mary's. He's done so for
:08:02. > :08:07.30 years but the freehold, the land underneath, is the Duchy's. Alan
:08:07. > :08:11.wants to buy the freehold. But the Duchy, says no. I feel I'm
:08:11. > :08:15.discriminated against. It is a discrimination that is created by
:08:15. > :08:20.the Duchy. So how has this happened? Most leaseholders are
:08:20. > :08:24.entitled by law to buy their freeholds. But the Duchy, like a
:08:24. > :08:27.handful of other bodies, is not bound by that law. Alan thinks
:08:27. > :08:33.that's unfair and as head of the Duchy he holds Prince Charles
:08:34. > :08:37.personally responsible for the consequences. It makes you feel
:08:37. > :08:40.angry that somebody who is in a very privileged position is able to
:08:40. > :08:50.manipulate, if I could use that word, manipulate the system to his
:08:50. > :08:50.
:08:50. > :08:53.own personal long-term financial The Duchy told us that in the case
:08:53. > :08:55.of the Garrison, keeping the freehold meant it could preserve
:08:55. > :09:02.for future generations the collective benefit of the
:09:02. > :09:05.integrated management of the built Alan just wants to preserve the
:09:06. > :09:13.value of his home, but he says, that's falling because his lease is
:09:13. > :09:16.running out. It is a throwback from the past. He does a lot of good
:09:16. > :09:22.work with charities but at the same time, he's got this other side that
:09:22. > :09:29.affects all the lives of ordinary people. As time goes on, the leases
:09:29. > :09:34.depreciate, thousands become It comes to the point where he
:09:34. > :09:44.actually takes possession of what is your home. The land belongs to
:09:44. > :09:46.
:09:47. > :09:56.him but when my lease runs out, my bricks and mortar goes to him.
:09:57. > :09:57.
:09:57. > :10:01.Lawyer John Kirkhope from Somerset has been researching the Duchy of
:10:01. > :10:04.Cornwall for the past five years. His work has revealed details of
:10:04. > :10:12.Prince Charles's little-known right of veto over legislation that might
:10:12. > :10:17.affect the Duchy. The law is very clear. Prince Charles is a subject
:10:17. > :10:22.of the Crown, like what you and I are. Even the Duke of Cornwall is a
:10:22. > :10:25.private individual. He is in charge of an assertive and commercial
:10:25. > :10:29.organisation and he has given privileged access to our lawmaking
:10:29. > :10:33.for which he is not accountable and which is completely opaque. That
:10:33. > :10:43.can't be right. The Duchy plays down Prince Charles's power of veto,
:10:43. > :10:45.
:10:45. > :10:51.But John Kirkhope believes he should give up his right to
:10:51. > :10:55.influence legislation. I'm sure Prince Charles is a benign man and
:10:55. > :10:58.I'm sure he's sincere. I don't think he abuses his power but I
:10:58. > :11:06.think he puts himself in a position to continue to exercise the power
:11:06. > :11:10.which is opaque and not accountable. I think that cannot be right.
:11:10. > :11:14.not just John who is unhappy. MP's are now questioning if the The
:11:14. > :11:18.Duchy of Cornwall's tax arrangements can be justified. It
:11:18. > :11:24.pays no corporation tax or capital gains tax. Prince Charles may
:11:24. > :11:32.voluntarily paid income tax. But that it appears may not be enough
:11:32. > :11:42.This 700 year old institution tied so closely to our region's identity
:11:42. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:51.We're really lucky in the south- west to have some of Britain's
:11:51. > :11:54.loveliest country estates that are open to the public. But keeping
:11:54. > :11:57.such places financially secure is a tough business that sometimes calls
:11:57. > :12:07.for bold decisions as David Stafford has been finding out in
:12:07. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:22.Hestercombe is a place designed to impress. Its landscape and formal
:12:22. > :12:23.
:12:23. > :12:31.gardens are loved by those who But as the leaves begin to fade and
:12:31. > :12:39.winter sets in, life here becomes As lovely as the gardens are, they
:12:39. > :12:42.struggle to bring in enough You could say what this place needs
:12:42. > :12:52.is a year-round attraction, somewhere you can go to escape the
:12:52. > :12:52.
:12:52. > :12:55.cold, something big and impressive, Parts of Hestercombe House date
:12:55. > :13:04.back to Medieval Times but it's the Georgian facade that's most
:13:04. > :13:09.Surprisingly, although the gardens have been welcoming visitors for
:13:09. > :13:19.over 15 years, the house has never been open to the public. Why? Well
:13:19. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:27.Philip White is head of the charitable trust that's run the
:13:27. > :13:31.Gardens since 2003 - but this year he's overseeing the biggest change
:13:31. > :13:34.in Hestercombe's history for more than half a century. For the past
:13:34. > :13:39.60 years, Somerset County Council has had offices here. Eventually,
:13:39. > :13:43.we'd like to make this into a gallery space... But plans are now
:13:43. > :13:49.in place to restore the house to how it was when Lord Portman lived
:13:49. > :13:52.here, more than 100 years ago. Wow! This is extraordinary. Look at all
:13:52. > :13:57.those taps! I know. This was Mr Portman's personal bathroom so he
:13:57. > :14:01.had this fantastic... People think things like Jacuzzis are new but of
:14:01. > :14:08.course they've got all these... "Sitz" and "plunge" and "wave" and
:14:08. > :14:13."spray". "Shower", "douche" and "cold". This is a very, very modern
:14:13. > :14:17.sort of shower, then. It is, yeah. The opportunities are huge but it's
:14:17. > :14:22.going to take a lot of money and, of course, there's no guarantee of
:14:22. > :14:26.success. The house needs a lot of work doing to it. It's been
:14:26. > :14:29.institutionalised for 60 years. It needs a new roof. But then, it sits
:14:29. > :14:33.in the middle of this fantastic landscape and we just couldn't
:14:33. > :14:39.possibly ignore it so we have to make the house work and we have to
:14:39. > :14:42.make it work financially. One of the most exciting things is that
:14:42. > :14:45.we've got the Guildhall School of Music coming here to open a centre
:14:45. > :14:49.for young musicians for the whole of the South West of England.
:14:49. > :14:52.you are outlining there is something of a challenge, isn't it?
:14:52. > :14:55.We've got to start somewhere. You can't possibly have a house sitting
:14:56. > :15:05.in such an important landscape and not open it to the public and not
:15:06. > :15:07.
:15:07. > :15:10.Philip and his team aren't hanging around. There's just over a month
:15:10. > :15:16.before the Guildhall School of Music will hold their first concert
:15:16. > :15:23.so there's lots for Hestercombe's very own band of volunteers to do.
:15:23. > :15:29.Hello. Hello. You're doing some very fine work here, I can see.
:15:29. > :15:34.What's the plan? Woodchip and two coats of magnolia? Yes! There's a
:15:34. > :15:37.lot of rising damp, obviously. there anything I can do to help?
:15:37. > :15:43.And by "help", I mean pulling that bit of wallpaper. We've saved that
:15:43. > :15:53.for you! Be our guest! Thank you very much indeed. Itching, itching,
:15:53. > :15:54.
:15:54. > :15:58.itching. Oh, God, it's going to... The house won't be the only
:15:58. > :16:01.attraction for winter visitors. This is Rook Wood, a forgotten
:16:01. > :16:11.corner of the grounds. Under the guidance of head gardener Clare
:16:11. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:18.Reid, a winter garden is being For nearly 500 years, Hestercombe
:16:18. > :16:23.was home to the Waugh family. Then in 1873, it was bought by Lord
:16:23. > :16:33.Portman. But as with many country estates, the 20th century saw a
:16:33. > :16:34.
:16:34. > :16:39.steady decline, although that is It's early February, less than two
:16:40. > :16:42.weeks before the Guildhall arrive at Hestercombe. But with getting
:16:42. > :16:44.enough tourists through the doors a constant worry, Philip's in London
:16:45. > :16:52.collecting an exhibition of photographs by Gertrude Jekyll, the
:16:53. > :16:59.designer of Hestercombe's formal garden. He hopes it will attract
:16:59. > :17:05.garden lovers all year round. these are the pictures? Yes, 96.
:17:05. > :17:09.pictures? And these were all taken by Gertrude Jekyll? Yes, all of her
:17:09. > :17:18.own gardens, flower arrangements. They are modern reprints from her
:17:18. > :17:21.original negatives. Gosh! Carefully loaded onto the van and on their
:17:21. > :17:31.way back to Somerset, the pictures will get their first outing in a
:17:31. > :17:33.
:17:33. > :17:43.It's opening day. In Rook Wood, there are signs that all the hard
:17:43. > :17:49.
:17:49. > :17:55.work has paid off. Spring is coming. At the house, final preparations
:17:55. > :18:01.for the big concert are under way. Another of Jekyll's photographs
:18:01. > :18:06.taken from her porch. It's beautiful, isn't it? The pictures
:18:06. > :18:09.are up but there's a bit of a snag. Basically, I've just come back from
:18:09. > :18:13.the front door and it's locked, shut. I've got the normal key for
:18:13. > :18:16.the house but I can't get it to open. With less than half an hour
:18:16. > :18:19.to go before the concert starts, and people on their way, events
:18:19. > :18:24.manager Steph has a struggle on her hands. So it should just open
:18:24. > :18:28.really easily, inwards, but it's just not opening. Everybody's
:18:29. > :18:33.raring to go but the punters are out there waiting in the cold.
:18:33. > :18:39.Julie, you've done it! It's open! The crisis has done nothing for
:18:39. > :18:44.Philip's nerves. I'm really feeling quite anxious at the moment because,
:18:44. > :18:54.of course, this is a big day for Hestercombe. This could be the
:18:54. > :19:09.
:19:09. > :19:14.beginning of the future, as far as So, how's it all gone? You could
:19:14. > :19:19.just hear the excitement behind me. The young people were just the most
:19:19. > :19:24.amazing musicians. To think that we're going to be able to bring
:19:24. > :19:27.that to Somerset is fantastic. It feels like this is the culmination
:19:27. > :19:33.of 20 years' work but it's also just the beginning of a whole new
:19:33. > :19:36.chapter in Hestercombe's history. Philip and his team now face the
:19:36. > :19:42.huge task of transforming the house into an attraction on a par with
:19:42. > :19:52.the gardens. But judging from their early efforts, they are on the
:19:52. > :19:52.
:19:52. > :19:55.When the last tin mine in the South West closed in 1998, many thought
:19:55. > :20:01.an industry which had been here for thousands of years had gone for
:20:01. > :20:05.good. Well, miners are underground once more and could be producing
:20:05. > :20:15.tin again within three years. But some question whether mining really
:20:15. > :20:20.
:20:20. > :20:22.is the best way forward for one of A sight many thought they would
:20:22. > :20:27.never see again. Miners drilling underground at South Crofty. The
:20:27. > :20:31.owners say the long-term prospects are good. You can do the maths. It
:20:31. > :20:33.comes out at a very, very big number indeed - billions of dollars
:20:33. > :20:39.of value. But some are sceptical about these predictions and think
:20:39. > :20:42.Cornwall should face up to a future without mining. Cornish mining as a
:20:42. > :20:48.living thing is actually dead and we need to give it a decent burial
:20:48. > :20:51.before the family can stop grieving and move on. Are Crofty's owners
:20:51. > :21:01.chasing an impossible dream - or could we be looking at a brave new
:21:01. > :21:01.
:21:01. > :21:07.It was in March 1998 that miners headed down for the last shift at
:21:07. > :21:12.South Crofty. The tin price was at rock bottom and hopes for a
:21:12. > :21:16.government bail out had been dashed. This mine shouldn't be shut today
:21:16. > :21:19.because it should be kept going. The government subsidises everybody
:21:19. > :21:22.else - subsidises the farmers - why not subsidise the tin mine? The
:21:22. > :21:28.last tin mine we've got. The last tin mine in Europe. They don't
:21:28. > :21:33.BLEEP seem to realise up there. pumps that kept the workings dry
:21:33. > :21:38.were about to be switched off. it's flooded, it's gone for good
:21:38. > :21:42.and, er, there'll be no coming back, whatever happens to the tin price.
:21:42. > :21:47.I mean, if it goes up next year, or next month, next week, it'll be too
:21:47. > :21:57.late. When the pumps were shut down, billions of gallons of water
:21:57. > :21:58.
:21:58. > :22:01.The prospect of tin mining returning to Cornwall looked remote.
:22:01. > :22:03.Never more so than in 2000, when the regional development agency, or
:22:03. > :22:12.RDA, announced it wanted to compulsorily purchase the Crofty
:22:12. > :22:16.site. I think we have to not only praise and glorify Cornwall's past,
:22:16. > :22:19.we have to look to the present and the future. The future, we believe,
:22:20. > :22:23.is a total redevelopment of that entire area for the benefit of the
:22:24. > :22:29.future of Cornwall. But a small group of miners and businessmen had
:22:29. > :22:33.other ideas. They formed a company and bought South Crofty in 2001,
:22:33. > :22:41.with the express purpose of reopening the mine. They told
:22:41. > :22:45.Spotlight they would create 200 jobs. It'll take us nearly a year
:22:45. > :22:48.to get down to where we believe the tin is, the first stages of the tin.
:22:48. > :22:54.From there, we will be preparing for tin production, which will take
:22:54. > :23:01.a further six to nine months. years later, fewer than 40 people
:23:01. > :23:04.work here and Crofty is still not producing any tin. This has
:23:04. > :23:08.provided plenty of ammunition for those who doubted the mine would
:23:08. > :23:13.ever be viable. You have to say, if there was going to be tin produced
:23:13. > :23:18.here in some scale, it would have been done by now. Tim Williams ran
:23:18. > :23:20.a government-funded regeneration company. Like the RDA, it wanted to
:23:20. > :23:26.redevelop the Crofty site and, in 2003, threatened a compulsory
:23:26. > :23:30.purchase order of its own. We began to think that there was absolutely
:23:30. > :23:33.no way in which a mining venture of that scale in the area could be
:23:33. > :23:36.consistent with the kind of high- quality environment that we wish to
:23:36. > :23:39.create. And certainly, we began to be very sceptical of the capacity
:23:39. > :23:41.of the company concerned to actually deliver a mining future in
:23:41. > :23:46.itself, let alone something more sophisticated, because they didn't
:23:46. > :23:49.seem to be going anywhere rather slowly. But Crofty's owners say the
:23:49. > :23:52.delay in re-starting mining has been directly due to their having
:23:52. > :24:00.to fight off these regeneration plans - and satisfy demands from
:24:00. > :24:04.Cornwall Council for a review of its mineral planning permissions.
:24:04. > :24:07.An awful lot of money was being spent but what we were spending the
:24:07. > :24:16.money on was actually the defence of the mine itself, without, if you
:24:16. > :24:19.like, picking up a pick. But in 2007, Crofty turned a corner. After
:24:19. > :24:23.six years, it had completed the mineral planning review and seen
:24:23. > :24:26.off the threat of compulsory purchase. This then left the coast
:24:26. > :24:33.clear for City investors eager to take advantage of a trebling in tin
:24:33. > :24:36.price since the mine's closure. depends on the quality of the drill
:24:36. > :24:39.results and ongoing work at the site. We're talking about a �50-�80
:24:40. > :24:43.million investment over the course of the next two or three years.
:24:43. > :24:49.Crofty's owners joined forces with the men in suits to form Western
:24:49. > :24:52.United Mines. Obviously, bringing a new investor on, so that we could
:24:52. > :24:58.really start to get on with the mining aspects of the project, was
:24:58. > :25:02.a tremendous feeling. We were very, very buoyant. Hopes were high when
:25:02. > :25:06.this drilling rig was installed in 2008. But the euphoria was short
:25:06. > :25:11.lived. Major investment dried up after Kerrier Council published
:25:11. > :25:16.plans for a new road. It was to go straight through where the mine
:25:16. > :25:21.wanted to build a processing plant, next to its new entrance. Three
:25:21. > :25:25.more years of wrangling followed before the road was re-routed. Only
:25:25. > :25:28.in the last year, say the owners, have they been free to get on with
:25:28. > :25:35.the proper business of developing the mine. Effectively, the green
:25:35. > :25:37.flag has only just gone up. We've just started the race. Fresh
:25:37. > :25:42.investment from a Canadian mining company endorsed this breakthrough,
:25:42. > :25:48.bringing total investment to date up to �19 million. Throughout this
:25:48. > :25:51.period, exploratory drilling for core samples has continued. The
:25:51. > :25:56.samples are brought to the surface for inspection by the mine's
:25:56. > :26:03.geologists. All together, there are nearly 30 kilometres of them in
:26:03. > :26:09.this store. We have this section here, Chris, that has fine grain in
:26:09. > :26:12.there. You can see at all in there. It is in that blob of chlorite.
:26:12. > :26:15.Results have been encouraging, according to the man brought in to
:26:15. > :26:21.take Crofty to the next stage, beyond exploration to full-scale
:26:21. > :26:28.mining. And Chris Davie says two key developments now make that more
:26:28. > :26:32.worthwhile than when men were last producing tin from here. When they
:26:32. > :26:35.shut down in 1998, the price of tin was below $5,000 a ton. It is
:26:35. > :26:39.currently $25,000 a ton. The other development is that before its
:26:39. > :26:42.closure, Crofty used tracks and shafts to move men and materials.
:26:42. > :26:47.Chris says new trackless methods mean even low-grade ore can now be
:26:47. > :26:54.mined profitably. We'll develop from surface and mechanised decline.
:26:54. > :26:57.We can run diesel equipment up and down this decline. It means we can
:26:57. > :27:00.enter at any level, at any point, have complete flexibility, and we
:27:00. > :27:07.can do this with much lower operating costs than was possible
:27:07. > :27:10.when the mine was shut. Back in 1998, it was thought that flooding
:27:10. > :27:13.would prove the ultimate obstacle to re-starting mining. But trial
:27:13. > :27:19.pumping equipment was installed earlier this year and, if
:27:19. > :27:22.successful, the main pumps could be switched back on in six months.
:27:22. > :27:24.Despite all this apparent progress, Tim Williams remains unconvinced.
:27:24. > :27:29.They're still going through the motions of getting people to invest
:27:29. > :27:33.in it. Shares on the international market, fees from them and all that
:27:33. > :27:41.kind of stuff. But one has to be sceptical as to whether any team is
:27:41. > :27:44.going to be produced. --any tin. And I kind of worried then and I
:27:44. > :27:47.worry now that the mining romance, if you like, stops people thinking
:27:47. > :27:50.about the future. It actively kills the future. The mine won't reach
:27:50. > :27:53.full production until at least 2016 and it'll cost well in excess of
:27:53. > :27:56.another �50 million to get there. But Alan Shoesmith remains bullish.
:27:56. > :27:58.In this county, beneath our feet we're stood on billions and
:27:58. > :28:08.billions of dollars' value of mineralisation. Why on earth would
:28:08. > :28:08.
:28:08. > :28:11.you have a vision against that? well as Crofty, there are three
:28:11. > :28:14.other projects now under way to find tin in Cornwall. They're
:28:15. > :28:24.backed by investors willing to dig deep and bet once more on a return
:28:25. > :28:40.