After a shocking result in last Tuesday's full council meeting (voted: 40-61), when senior officers John Betty (john.betty@cornwall.gov.uk), Konkrete Kate Kennally (kkennally@cornwall.gov.uk) and Phil Mason (phil.mason@cornwall.gov.uk) bamboozled most councillors into backing their madcap scheme for a new town at Chiverton (under false pretences), the overzealous arm of the rugby fraternity will have its work cut out to chase the missing millions, whilst Betty and co. happily borrow another £600m (to be paid back via council taxes and to add to the current approx. £2bn Council debt burden), to facilitate the building of thousands of new homes between Penstraze and Chiverton Cross (with its expensive plan for sewage holding tanks), with not the slightest sign of any financial plans to build the desperately needed Northern Access Route (NAR) to permanently black-alerted Treliske Hospital. According to recent official stats, deaths in Cornwall still outnumber births, so firstly we ask who these thousands of homes are being built for? A comment from Dr. Deacon re. the Council's disastrously shallow strategy, moving from one hideous cockup to another: "Thankfully, here's the last in my series of reflections on Cornwall Council's current 'strategy'. After describing the way in which the Council have widened out the leadership clique and the latest moves to de-democratise Cornwall, it sort of fizzles out in a number of questions. But now looks like the time to think again about the best way to organise opposition. Which some are." https://cornwalldevelopersparadise.wordpress.com/2018/03/29/cornwall-council-protecting-place-shaping-from-democracy/ https://cornwalldevelopersparadise.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/cornwall-councils-love-affair-with-housing-and-population-growth/ Meanwhile, Mason, Betty and co. (none of whom have any link or understanding of the Duchy, only "growth" and "money"), have upped the ante by announcing that actually, if you can turn a few farms into 5,000 homes, why not try 10,000, as explained by extracts from this email from a Truro City councillor: "On 19 Apr 2018, at 23:19 Dear Iwan, I have just learned this evening that Phil Mason is going to address Truro City Council on Monday evening (23rd April 2018). I have also learned (but I have no written evidence) that he is proposing 10,000 (TEN THOUSAND houses) to be built the Langarth area stretching out to CHIVERTON roundabout . If this is the case then the Truro and Kenwyn Neighbourhood Plan will have to be updated. IT IS A PUBLIC MEETING AND I DO HOPE MANY WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND. The Truro City Council meetings are held “under the Town Clock” i.e. in the Municipal Buildings (to the right of the entrance to the Hall for Cornwall) Boscawen Street. Open the large doors painted blue, go up the granite steps - almost 50 of them - walk along the area at the top of the stairs and the Council Chamber is on your left. The meeting starts at 7pm and Phil Mason will be #1 on the agenda! Have you seen the St. Austell Voice this week? With best wishes" For more information of the magnificent six officers' trip to Cannes, at Taxpayers' expense, and if you like big corporate words, here's the report: www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/32296571/mipim-report-april-2018.pdf Where is Cornwall headed???? Given that air quality is fast becoming toxic across Cornwall, I don't really think Cornwall Council has our kids' health at heart, do you? Yes, there are more than 500 AQMAs in the UK. There are currently nine in Cornwall: Redruth, Camborne and Pool Bodmin Tideford Gunnislake St Austell Truro Camelford Grampound Launceston Camelford: Cornwall Council declared Camelford an Air Quality Management Area in 2017 after long term monitoring found that the Fore Street and High Street areas of the town have excessive levels of traffic related nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Grampound: Cornwall Council has been monitoring Grampound since 2014, with results showing that areas of the village have excessive levels of traffic related nitrogen dioxide, particularly the eastern end of Fore Street. Launceston: Cornwall Council has been keeping an eye on Launceston’s levels of nitrogen dioxide, which comes from car and lorry exhaust, since 2016. This long term monitoring has confirmed that the Newport area of the town, particularly St Thomas Road and Newport Square, has excessive levels of traffic related nitrogen dioxide. Truro: We have been monitoring nitrogen dioxide levels in Truro for several years. The biggest source of nitrogen dioxide is the exhaust gases from cars and lorries travelling on the A390. Our monitoring has showed that air pollution levels in Truro are higher than they should be and a Detailed Assessment of air quality was commissioned. This report confirmed poor air quality at several locations along the A390, primarily at Highertown and Tresawls Road as well as the B3284 Kenwyn Road. It was therefore concluded that an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) should be declared. Following a public consultation in early 2015, the AQMA was formally declared on 1 July 2015. The Council has decided that the entire city should be declared as an AQMA due to higher pollution levels being found in several ‘hotspots’.