I present regular written reports to both St Dennis Parish Council and St Enoder Parish Council. The report for March 2026 is as follows:
1.0 Council and other meetings
Physical Cornwall Council meetings during the last three weeks included Cabinet, Corporate, Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee and an associated meeting about business plans for a number of council-owned companies, and Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The statutory consultation into Cornish Lithium’s proposals commenced on 2nd March and I have attended one meeting of the Liaison Group for the project and eight sessions of the consultation events at St Dennis (two), St Stephen (two), Treviscoe (two) and Whitemoor (two).
I also attended a meeting organised by the firm which is bringing forward the Tregonning solar farm. Other physical meetings included St Dennis Parish Council (two), St Enoder Parish Council (two), including the 2025 Annual Assembly, Indian Queens Victory Hall and a meeting in St Stephen about public rights of way across Clay Country.
Meetings via video-conferencing meanwhile included an Individual Decision Day at Cornwall Council and a briefing about the potential for Foundation Strategic Authority status for Cornwall Council.
2.0 Representations to central government
At the unitary authority, I have been involved with the production of two representations to central government in the last month. This included a detailed response to the BBC Royal Charter Review, in which the case was made for Cornish public service media and more audiovisual output in the Cornish language, and a letter was sent to a government minister seeking a Cornish nationality tick-box on the 2031 census. I was pleased that the letter was signed by the leaders of all the political groups on the authority.
3.0 “Belonging in Cornwall”
In recent weeks, I have attended a range of meetings about a new “EDI” strategy, which is titled “Belonging in Cornwall: Our strategy for a fair and inclusive Cornwall where everyone feels welcome.” The final draft was presented to a meeting of Corporate, Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17th March and there will now be a period of public consultation between 26th March to 6th May 2026.
4.0 Cornwall Cultural Strategy 2026-3030
I attended the Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 5th March to take part in discussions on a Cultural Strategy for Cornwall. I secured some tweaks to the draft document, which is now out for a period of public consultation until 24th April 2026.
5.0 “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
6.0 Cornish Lithium
As noted above, the statutory consultation into Cornish Lithium’s proposals [which precedes the actual “planning application” to central government] commenced on 2nd March and will continue until 13th April 2026; and I have attended eight sessions of the various consultation events in order to look in detail at the paperwork that has been prepared by the company.
At these sessions, I have spoken to a number of local residents about their views on the project and have had many conversations about their concerns. These include fears about noise and dust, traffic, impacts on the local environment [both natural and historic], water disposal arrangements [particularly near the Tregargus Valley], the workability of restoration conditions, etc.
I am seeking a meeting with Cornwall Council planning officers about how they [as a formal consultee] will scrutinising what is in the statutory consultation and how they will be looking to address concerns raised locally.
7.0 Trerice Solar Farm
I can confirm that the date for the planning hearing into the proposed 32MW solar farm at Trerice has been shifted to 12th May. It will take place at The Pitch.
8.0 Road improvements
As residents will be aware, I have been making representation about the condition of Carne Hill, Fore St and Trelavour Road for a number of years, and I previously reported that this stretch of road had made it to the “top of the list.”
I am pleased to be able to report that resurfacing of various areas of this stretch of road have been provisionally timetabled for August, though I have yet to see the detailed mapping of which areas will be improved. I will update further when I get additional information.
In addition to this, I am continuing to make representations about the condition of the roadway around Domellick Bridge to seek meaningful resurfacing rather than patching. I am also following up on a range of ongoing complains about roads in my division.
9.0 Sign project
I have submitted a grant application with the Parish Council to the St Dennis and Nanpean Community Trust (incinerator fund) to install “Welcome to St Dennis Parish” signs and nameplates for the settlements of Enniscaven, Gothers and Trerice Terrace. The meeting to consider this application will be held on 26th March.
ST ENODER PARISH
10.0 Tregonning Solar Farm
I attended a meeting about the proposed solar farm at Tregonning Farm on 18th March. This solar farm [PA22/01511] was consented on 5th December 2023. It in St Newlyn East Parish, but the cable route needs to be dug through St Enoder Parish to link with Indian Queens Power Station. The cabling will extend from Barton Lane along the old A30 through Fraddon and Indian Queens, before heading up Highgate Hill and passing under the bypass. It was anticipated that construction traffic would pass through Summercourt on its way to the site.
At the meeting, it was stated that construction works were due to commence within about three-four weeks and the initial works would be on the actual farm. Further information about the cabling route will be made public in the near future.
When the application was considered by the Strategic Planning Committee, I reported that a “number of residents from St Enoder parish had commented and raised concerns about issues such as delivery lorries travelling through the parish” and how “cabling along the public highway would cause disruption.” I told councillors “if the Committee was minded to approve the application then it would need to look closely at strengthening the conditions in respect of the construction period” and I requested that an “informative be added stating that local Members be consulted” on this. The informative was not added.
Condition 14 of the consent set out that a construction method statement had to be agreed prior to the commencement of work. I am unhappy that the paperwork to discharge this condition was submitted on 28th November 2025 and agreed on 16th December 2025. I was not consulted and neither was St Enoder Parish Council.
I am presently reviewing this information and I will be speaking to both the unitary authority and the developers.
11.0 Road improvements
Surfacing improvements on the road from My Lords Road to Seaview Terrace was due to be done between 9th March 2026 to 3rd April 2026, but these works were cancelled because teams had to be deployed to deal with more immediate reactive works [potholes, storm damage, etc]. I understand these works are being rescheduled.
Similarly, proposed improvements work to the roundabout at the bottom of Fraddon Hill and a the construction of a build-out at Ridgewell Terrace, Fraddon, have been delayed because of the pressure of reactive works. These are presently scheduled for the second quarter of the next financial year [ie. July-September 2026].
12.0 Bus shelter at Penhale
We have also received an update from the local Cormac manager about the proposed bus shelter at Penhale. This was as follows:
“This is one of a number of our programmed schemes that have been delayed over the winer period due to other pressures and priorities. I have checked with the project team for this scheme, who have advised that prior to consultation, a trial pit is to be arranged due to likelihood of tree roots as per the Arboriculture report and underground 33KV high voltage cables in the footway/verge here.
“The trial pit works instruction is due to be issued imminently with the main works instruction due to be issued some time after that towards the end of next month if all goes OK following the trial pit checks. It is hoped the shelter will be in place for next winter.”
SUPPORT FOR LOCAL FAMILIES
13.0 Advice
In addition, I have assisted numerous households and individuals with guidance and advice on a range of topics.