Cornwall Council's plans for a 'surf tax' approved

Harlyn surf school said new charges could jeopardise beach safety

A new "surf tax" will be introduced for watersports schools to increase council income and promote safe standards.

Cornwall Council could charge the biggest surf schools more than £4,000 a year depending on the number of pupils.

The authority said the licensing scheme was necessary to provide council revenue and ensure safety levels were being met.

Some opponents of the scheme, to be introduced on 13 council-owned beaches, said they will refuse to pay.

Sam Roberts, from Atlantic Pursuits in Bude, said the charges are "purely about making money and have nothing to do with beach safety at all".

'Too bureaucratic'

Chris Rea, of Harlyn Surf School, said: "The council have based their revenue figures on the premise that all surf schools will pay and that isn't going to happen."

Nigel Pearce, council member for Bude, said the sliding-scale payment system was "too bureaucratic" and would cost more to administer than the expected revenue of up to £35,000 a year.

The annual fee will range from £72.15 for a school with one board to £4,329 for a school with 60 boards.

John Pollard, leader of Cornwall Council, said businesses making a profit on council-owned land should make a contribution to the authority.

The council report on the licence said it needed to generate additional income from activities on its land and ensure businesses were "appropriately insured and trained".