Monthly columns from your St Austell representatives in Cornwall Council

I CONTINUE to attend as many community events as possible and it was great to run a session for Mevagissey Memory Cafe at the local fete. Our memory cafes are so important and I’m running a Sticker Memory Cafe session this summer too. Thanks to all the volunteers who organize our many brilliant events.

It was great to help out again with the Gorran Haven Regatta on June 1st. The concert club put on a brilliant day and over 25 clubs joined us for a great day of racing.

I have agreed a grant from my community chest for the Sticker Rally to help with the organization and have agreed in principle a grant for Polgooth Village Hall. We also supported the Grampound Band with a grant to buy new hymn books. The band has been revived and it’s great to see so many people involved. I also chaired a candidate debate at St Austell College and it was great to return to college as a former student and see so many young people getting involved in local politics.

I helped with the D-Day commemorations by taking a group to Nare Head and Turnaware Point as key embarkation points. The group included relatives of veterans, so it was especially poignant to remember and thank them for their sacrifice. We opened the St Marks Flower Festival in Sticker and the Cornish heritage themed displays were lovely. I gave a tip in the morning at the Trewoon Community Hub and it was great to see over 20 residents queuing at any one time. I am delighted to have been appointed as a trustee of St Ewe Relief Charity and spread the word to emphasize that we can help any local person in need. We also spoke to Gorran School pupils about local history and the history of Gorran and St Ewe Schools. It was great to see so many St Ewe children there and they were really excited.

I am working with local historian Barry West who is leading a memorial project for the Tregongeeves Quaker Cemetery and the life of Loveday Hambly. We will erect a memorial and create a wildflower garden to mark this important historic site. I chair the White River Community Project and have drawn up plans for nature restoration, flood mitigation and community environmental protection in the Pentewan Valley. We are working towards £40,000 in funding and have already secured a commitment to give £20,000.

Hope everyone enjoyed the sunnier weather. Still, it was an incredibly wet winter. My father has lived in our parishes for 83 years and assures me that this was the wettest winter he has ever known. We have reported many problems with flooding and potholes and also many requests for hedge cutting. Some have been resolved and other sections we are still pressing for work. Please report any problems with highways, leaks or flooding via www.cornwall.gov.uk/report-something or the emergency line, 03001 234222.

I am here to help you with any problem, so please do not hesitate to contact me: email (email protected) or tel 07939 457590.

The General Election is very much dominating politics at the moment. I ran for Mebyon Kernow in four of the last five state elections, but not this time. MK has repeatedly stated that our electoral priorities are the 2025 Cornwall Council elections and the associated town and parish council elections, which will take place on 1 May 2025. Therefore, a conscious decision has been made to focus our resources on these . the upcoming local elections – where we are optimistic of making real progress – rather than the costly general election.

Obviously, I am conflicted about the decision, but I know it is the right one. And MKs are challenging potential MPs to confirm their support for meaningful devolution for Cornwall, as there is in the other Celtic parts of the UK.

While not on the campaign trail, my council work continues and in recent weeks has focused quite a bit on highway issues. This ranged from reporting numerous potholes to a meeting about discolored road markings and other road defects; and make representations about the problems caused by road closures on the A30 related to dualling and other roadworks in the parishes I represent.

In addition, I have had numerous conversations, both positive and negative, with people about the recent public consultation on the proposal to introduce 20mph speed limits in large areas of local villages in Clay Country. Like other elected members, I’m keen to see the official breakdown of what local people think and what changes might have been called for.

In St Dennis I am very pleased that the parish council is progressing with the purchase of mobile speed monitors which can be placed on poles at various locations in the village to encourage people to drive safely within the speed limit. Also at a recent meeting of the village parish council there was extensive discussion about traffic congestion, traffic speed, parking and related matters in the heart of the village and we approached Cornwall Council with a request that they take action. study possible solutions. I continue to make statements to that effect.

I am also pleased with the progress being made with the ‘direction of travel’ document for a Neighborhood Plan for St Dennis, which I am drawing up with the support of a working group of Parish Councillors. This will soon form the basis of our next consultation.

If I can be of any help to anyone please do not hesitate to contact me: (email protected) or 07791 876607.

LIFE has been pretty hectic these past few weeks, after the election is called, everything is “on hold”. The term Purdah is used, meaning that many political decisions cannot be made during this time.

Still, other things go on. Treveth has started its public engagement sessions and will be meeting with stakeholders shortly where we will begin to look at their draft plans for the site. We are still in the early stages but it is important that we get what St Austell needs.

We have recurring issues with the old General Wolfe site, which are constantly being resolved. If you see anything untoward, please report it via the 101 web chat or online form. As always, it is important that these issues are reported.

Holy Trinity Cafe has started its Wednesday Youth Sessions – a safe place for them to come out and have a drink, a chat and some delicious food! Keep an eye on their Facebook page or visit and learn more.

I was delighted to be elected Chair of the Economic Growth and Development Scrutiny Committee – this committee has done excellent work over the last few years as we have seen huge investment in Cornwall and many businesses and organizations have benefited from this investment, particularly through Shared Prosperity Fund. I am honored to continue the work of previous presidents for the final year of this current administration.

It is good to see movement on the Integrated Services Center going into St Austell town centre; internal works will start soon. It will be great to finally have it up and running after a long legal process.

Finally, in case you’ve forgotten, we have an election coming up and it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to ask you to vote for Steve Double, who has worked tirelessly for this area, bought huge investment with a new road. , a new elective surgery center (Penrice Hospital), new primary schools and a huge investment to redevelop Cornwall College’s St Austell campus etc. He wants to continue to build on this work and trusts that you will give him the opportunity to do that.

If there is anything I can do for you, as always, please contact us through the usual channels – (email protected) or 01726 829246.

Well, it’s certainly been an interesting few weeks since I last wrote my column for the Voice.

The most interesting thing is that the prime minister has called general elections for July 4, which at the time of writing this article (June 20) was still two weeks away. As usual, I ran all over the place helping Steve Double, who needless to say, (I’m not sure when this will be published!) I have supported or will support him in his re-election efforts. Steve has done a lot of good for our area, particularly in recent years, working with me to support local groups in accessing the Shared Prosperity Fund for millions of pounds for projects for our area and to support fishermen and help with schemes floods.

But enough of national politics – the fact that a general election has been called means that Cornwall Council has gone into something called Purdah, which means that council officers are limited in how they can support councilors (as we are elected members as well as parliamentarians).

This means that it has been more difficult than usual to get updates from the officers on the various things we have been doing locally, but I can advise you of the following:

I will have a community play equipment painting day arranged with Mevagissey School and Cormac for Valley Road Park in July.

Cormac repaired the steps at Polstreath at my request and it is now much more accessible than it was previously.

I was delighted to help fund Mevagissey School’s recent trip to London – ironically the centerpiece of that trip was to go to Parliament and they couldn’t do it as a general election had been called!

I was also delighted to see the simply stunning performances of the Mevagissey Male Choir at the Hall for Cornwall for their 50th anniversary show, more than ably supported by Alison Harvey, The Press Gang, Mevagissey Quaynotes and Cornwall Youth Choir, who were a revelation. . Great stuff that brought me to tears at various times and had a few well deserved standing ovations. Simply put, no one does it better!

Finally, as I write I am looking forward to Bank Holiday, always the highlight of my year, and I am sure it will be another great one for Mevagissey. Thank you to everyone on the committee who work throughout the year to pull off such an amazing event.

As always, if you need my help with anything, please contact me on (email protected) or 07885 277670 and I’ll be happy to help.