Earlier this month, I presented my annual report to the St
Enoder Parish Assembly, which took place at Summercourt New Memorial Hall. The
full report was as follows:
Annual report: 2013-2014
In May 2013, I was very pleased to be re-elected to serve St
Enoder Division on Cornwall Council for the next four years. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank all those who supported me with their votes, and I
would also like to thank everyone who has assisted me with my work over the
last twelve months.
Listed below are some of my activities during the last year,
though the list is not exhaustive.
1. Roles at Cornwall
Council
Following the election, I was elected as the Chairman of the
Environment, Heritage and Planning Portfolio Advisory Committee, and I serve on
the Constitution and Governance Committee. I do also however attend a wide
range of other committees as a non-voting member.
2. Other
organisations
I have served on a number of other organisations, both
Cornwall-wide and locally. These include: China Clay Local Action Group
(Chairman), CRIG (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly RDPE Implementation Group,
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Rural Partnership, working group for the
development of CLLD (Community-led Local Development) programme for 2014-2020
(Chairman), China Clay Area Training and Work Centre at St Dennis (Chairman),
Fraddon Millennium Green, Indian Queens Pit Association and the Governing Body
at Summercourt School.
3. Indian
Queens Pit
The new community building at the Pit, for which I was able
to secure grant funding, was officially opened on Saturday 13th April 2013 by Andrew Waters, in his position
as Parish Council Chairman. A new fundraising publication, which I had produced
about Indian Queens Pit and the wider parish of St Enoder, was also launched at
the event.
4. Extra
land for Indian Queens
School
I have been involved with the initiative to secure extra
land for the use of Indian Queens
School Indian
Queens School March 12th 2014 .
5. St Enoder
Youth Club
Throughout the last year, I have helped to build a
partnership between Cornwall Council and St Enoder Parish Council to develop a
Youth Club for local teenagers. I also submitted a grant application for
£10,000 to the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme to go towards the
construction of a youth club building in the Indian Queens Recreation Ground;
and I am delighted that we have just been informed that the application was
successful.
6. Indian
Queens Victory Hall
I was also able to secure a £5,000 grant from the Clay
Country Local Action Group to purchase 191 chairs and nine tables for the Hall.
This was linked to the £23,000 grant that I had obtained last year, which had
funded a new floor and kitchen improvements.
7. The Kelliers
I have continued to act as the liaison between Cornwall
Council and St Enoder Parish Council with regard to the finalisation of a 99
lease for the Kelliers. Delays have been caused by obligations associated with
the closed landfill sites in the area. It is hoped that the lease will be
sorted in the next two-three months.
8. Highway
works
I have spent a lot of time lobbying Council officers about
the condition of certain roads in St Enoder Parish. Patching works on the old
A30 through Fraddon and Indian Queens were completed in August 2013, while
surface dressing and relining of this stretch of road is planned for May 2014. Cormac
carried out some temporary patching of the worst pot-holes at
Highgate/Gaverigan Roundabout in February 2014 and the resurfacing of the
roundabout is also timetabled for May 2014. I am continuing to press for
further repairs on a number of local roads – many of them in the more rural
parts of St Enoder Parish – and for the road bridge near Perrose and Retyn (closed
because it had been undermined by the amount of water in the river beneath it)
to be repaired and reopened.
9. Flooding
problems
Following a number of flooding incidents in St Enoder Parish
in December 2012, March 2013, December 2013 – February 2014, I produced a
detailed report about what happened. It was updated on a number of occasions
and I used it to lobby on behalf of local residents. As a consequence, road
ditches and associated pipework near two properties at Dennis Junction on the
old A30, east of Indian Queens, were upsized. Nine properties in Fraddon and
Summercourt have meanwhile been assessed through the unitary authority’s new Property
Level Protection (PLP) and will be fitted with flood doors, pumps, etc, to
safeguard them against flooding in the future.
10. Waste water
problems at Trevarren
I have continued to make further representations on behalf
of local residents, who remain concerned about the surcharge of waste from the
foul water onto the highway at Trevarren. I am pleased to be able to report
that I have received assurances from South West Water that they are
prioritising capital works in Trevarren as they develop a programme for dealing
with external flooding across Cornwall
from 2015 onwards.
11. Planning
appeals
Planning matters have dominated much of civic life in St
Enoder Parish over the last twelve months. A number of contentious applications
were refused by Cornwall Council, but the applicants went to appeal. I was
pleased to be able produce a series of detailed statements (each about 3,000 –
4,000 words long) for the planning appeals. These included proposed turbine at
Beacon Road, Summercourt (PA12/02362); proposed turbine at Nancolleth (PA13/07654)
in the neighbouring parish of St Newlyn East; proposed solar farm at Burthy
Farm (PA13/05983) and a proposed
traveller site at Toldish, Indian Queens (PA13/02083). I represented the Parish
Council at the planning hearing on the Toldish application on 1st April 2014 . I have also completed
a detailed response to Cornwall Council’s consultation on the draft
Supplementary Planning Document on affordable housing on behalf of St Enoder
Parish Council.
12. Neighbourhood
Plan
St Enoder Parish Council has started work on the production
of a Neighbourhood Plan and I was able to make a successful application to the
“Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning” for £7,000 towards the costs
of producing the Plan.
13. Community
payment from solar farm
When the planning application for a 2.67 hectare solar farm
at Glebe Farm, Summercourt (PA12/05890) was approved by Cornwall Council’s Strategic
Planning Committee on 31st October
2012 , it was agreed that a unilateral undertaking be signed to pay
£5,500 to St Enoder Parish Council as a one-off community payment. However, the
developers failed to sign the document but I put significant pressure on them
until the payment was made.
14. Formal road adoptions
Some longstanding issues have also been addressed in the
last few months. This included the formal adoption, by Cornwall Council, of the
roads and associated pavements in Fairview
Park St
Columb Road and St James View, Fraddon.
15. Clay Country
mobile library / one-stop-shop
Cornwall Council continues to be in an extremely difficult
financial position, because of massive reductions in funding from central
government and rising costs. I am extremely saddened that the unitary
authority has now announced, amongst other things, that – in order to keep to
its reduced budget – it plans to cease all mobile library and mobile one stop
shop services. The Clay Country mobile library / one-stop-shop is under threat
and I am doing my utmost to oppose the removal of the service.
16. Environmental
improvements
I have been lobbying Cornwall Council on a regular basis to
“tidy up” certain areas within the Parish, such as the entrance into Heather
Meadow, Fraddon, and a pavement into Summercourt (soil slippage), which were
cleared by CORMAC in December 2013. There has also been a significant increase
in flytipping in recent weeks and I continue to bring a number of incidents to
the attention of Cornwall Council’s contractor. This has included a large
number of mattresses dumped on local verges.
17. Letter from China
Clay Area Network Meeting
In co-operation with the Network Manager of the China Clay
Area, I recently drafted a letter which addressed local concerns about the
inequitable provision of council services across Cornwall .
At the meeting of the China Clay Area Network on 24th February 2014 , the letter was endorsed by all
Cornwall Councillors and parish councillors present, and sent to the Chief
Executive, Corporate Directors and the members of the Cabinet. This
followed other representations on matters such as the lack of parking
enforcement in the China Clay Area.
18. Civic
functions
As the local Cornwall Councillor, in October 2013 I was very
pleased to be able to officially open the 85th Indian Queens Music Festival in
October, and the Ocean Housing affordable housing scheme at Mowhay Meadows and
Martha’s Meadow in Fraddon. At the new housing scheme, as well as performing
the ribbon cutting duties, I also judged a well-contested pumpkin carving
competition.
19. Research into
World War 1
I was privileged to lay a wreath at St Enoder Churchtown to
mark Remembrance Sunday last November and I have started work on a book about
our area and the First World War. In particular, I am researching the lives of
servicemen from Fraddon, Indian Queens, St Columb
Road and Summercourt who were killed or died
in the First World War, and whose names are remembered on local war memorials.
I am also researching the narrative of how thirteen men, who worked at the
Trewheela China Clay Works near Fraddon, collectively joined the Territorial
Force of the Royal Engineers in August 1914.
20. My Community
Fund
I have awarded the £3,000 in my personal Community Fund for
2013-2014 (allocated to all Cornwall Councillors) as follows:
Fraddon Village Hall – £400 towards redecoration of the
Hall.
Indian Queens Band – £450 towards new
instruments.
Indian Queens Pantomine Society –
£400 towards a projector.
St Enoder Parish Council – £1,000 towards the new Youth Club
for local teenagers.
1st St Enoder Scouts – £450 towards new dining tents and
cooking stoves.
Summercourt Memorial Hall – £300 towards new tables.
21. Inquiries
I help local people with advice and assistance on a daily
basis and can be contacted on 07791 876607 or dickcole@btinternet.com.
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