Each month, I present a written report to both St Dennis Parish Council and St Enoder Parish Council. The report for September 2025 is as follow:
1. Council and other meetings
Physical Cornwall Council meetings in the last month included Full Council and the Budget Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee, plus an associated training session. Meetings via video-conferencing meanwhile included Central Planning Committee, briefings for the Budget Development OSC and one on council-owned entities (eg. Corserv), meetings of Group Leaders (2) and numerous conversations with council officers.
I have attended meetings of both St Dennis Parish Council and St Enoder Parish Council. Other meetings included the Trelavour Community Liaison Group, Fraddon Village Hall Committee, Indian Queens Band Committee and Indian Queens Pit Committee.
For information, I attended slightly fewer meetings than most months as I was on leave between 18th and 28th September.
2. Cornwall Local Plan
In previous reports, I have written about how I had requested Cornwall Council’s ruling Cabinet set up a “Local Plan Committee” so that elected members can be fully involved with producing the next set of planning policies for Cornwall.
Cornwall Council’s constitution states that the preparation of the Local Plan is an executive function, and as such is a matter for Cabinet. This is currently discharged through delegation to the Cornwall Growth Board [comprising five members of the Cabinet, plus two co-opted members for advice].
The next meeting of the Growth Board will be on Thursday 9th October. At this meeting, they will consider a report about the approach to creating a new Local Plan. It includes the proposal to create an “informal working group” to “provide cross party Member perspectives and input to the Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Localism and Planning on the development of the Local Plan to inform them in their consideration of issues and advice to Cabinet through the Growth Board.”
The report to the Growth Board, also states the following:
“It is intended that the Working Group is to provide insight and perspective on relevant issues, including but not limited to:
- Identifying where more or less emphasis perhaps should be given to a particular topic.
- Identifying issues of particular concern to the wider membership.
- Identifying missing or unexplored sources of information or stakeholders.
- Identifying and advising on where members feel evidence should be strengthened.
- Supporting and advising on consultations including reference to the communication and engagement strategy.
- Acing as a conduit for information to and from the wider Member body relating to the Local Plan.
- Advising and reviewing on the parameters for assessing reasonable alternatives, particularly at the level of strategic distribution of growth, and without prejudice to any Overview and Scrutiny conversation of subsequent decisions.
- Attendance at site visits from time to time to explore particular topics.
- Attendance at stakeholder meetings from time to time to represent the Working Group.
The report also states that “the panel will not undertake detailed drafting of policy.”
I will be present at the meeting on Thursday 9th October.
3. “Report it”
I continue to report a number of local issues of concern to residents. If you spot any problems, you can also report it yourself through Cornwall Council’s website at: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/report-something/
ST DENNIS PARISH
4. Cornish Lithium
I attended the most recent Trelavour Community Liaison Group meeting, at which there was a discussion led by Cornish Lithium about how to broaden the membership of the CLG. An updated Terms of Reference (TOR) has been drafted and will be discussed at the next meeting on 21st October.
Cornish Lithium are also holding a session at Treviscoe Community Centre on 14th October (5.30-6.30) for people interested in joining the group to find out more.
5. Closure of Wellington Road
Wellington Road has been closed for a number of weeks, where Cornwall Council and South West Water have been working to repair a hollow. It has been caused, at least in part, by a water leak and related problems. I have been liaising with Cornwall Council and I have been told that the works will be completed in week ending 10th October.
ST ENODER PARISH
6. Planning matters
6.1 – Central Planning Committee
I have previously reported about the decision of the UK Government to impose a higher housing target on Cornwall. As a consequence, council officers have decided that we longer have a “five-year land supply” and that therefore (i) housing policies in the Cornwall Local Plan can no longer be given weight in the deliberation of planning applications and that (ii) housing policies in most NDPs – including that of St Enoder Parish – are out-of-date.
I am continuing to challenge the view of council officers and I referred an application for four open-market houses off Heather Meadow in Fraddon [PA25/03870] to a meeting of the Central Planning Committee on 22nd September. The proposed scheme was in a location which St Enoder’s NDP said should be an exception site – with at least 50% affordable local-needs housing.
I spoke at the meeting via video-conferencing [as I was away], while Cllr Ross Wimberley represented St Enoder Parish Council. I expressed concern at how the policy team at Cornwall Council had misrepresented the St Enoder Parish NDP, and I also challenged why the housing policies in some NDPs were protected but not those of St Enoder. I raised a number of examples of how staff at the unitary authority were being inconsistent with their approach to NDPs. As the meeting went on, I suggested that the application be deferred so that my queries about policy could be reviewed.
I was extremely disappointed that the committee did not act on my representations, and the application was approved by seven votes to three with one abstention.
6.2 – Meeting with policy team
I am following up my concerns about NDPs and housing policies with the policy team, and I will be attending a meeting on Thursday 9th October.
7. Trevine Meadows
Following a request from local residents, a new nameplate has been erected at the entrance to Trevine Meadows. This follows complaints that people making deliveries were often struggling to find the estate.
SUPPORT FOR LOCAL FAMILIES
8. Advice
In addition, I have assisted numerous households and individuals with guidance and advice on a range of topics.