From: <kevin.bennetts@hotmail.com>
Sent: 24 July 2019 15:59
To: Sarah Newton MP <sarah.newton.mp@parliament.uk>
Subject: AN OPEN LETTER TO SARAH NEWTON MP 

Dear Mrs Newton

Many of us are increasingly appalled by the apparent buck passing between you (as our elected Government Representative) and Cornwall Council, with regard to development policies in general, but in this instance, relating to Langarth Farm in particular, which, via the “free Stadium for Cornwall”, has been allowed to become yet another political football, and which last time around almost certainly assisted your re-election.

Times inevitably move on, so given the significant and growing dissatisfaction evident due to the explosion of concentrated intensive development hot-spots in your constituency, as well as your apparent complete lack of concern over the increasing disruption this is visiting on your constituents, Cornish Solidarity respectfully suggests that it may take more than the carrot of a stadium to save your seat next time around.

Having recently moved from St Day to Gwennap, you are now my constituency MP, therefore I am writing to you in that capacity, on behalf of Cornish Solidarity, to express the group’s deep concerns, with regard the issues articulated above that are located in your constituency.

I received your usual immediate robotic (out of office) response, to our email calling for a public enquiry into alleged irregularities at Langarth, and sent to multiple recipients from Cornish Solidarity (transparency and openness is our policy), in relation to concerns relating to potential malpractice by the Langarth developer, so this formal letter is a follow up to impress on you the seriousness of our concerns and send a very clear message that you really should not ignore this matter.

Various players at Lys Kernow, when challenged, constantly complain about buck-passing, which Cornish Solidarity views as a disgraceful cop out that all concerned should be deeply ashamed of, because in reality the wool is being pulled over your electorate’s eyes.

This farrago of half truths, untruths and general muddying of already murky waters needs to be urgently addressed and stopped forthwith, before all respect is lost in a smokescreen of obfuscation; we expect honesty and clarity, first, last and always, and we will settle for nothing less!

While the buck is being endlessly passed around, your constituents are being increasingly buffeted by events that do not benefit them nor does it make their lives any better.

The sheer number of often substandard new houses coming on stream is doing nothing to help your often hard pressed home-seeking constituents, because the homes remain stubbornly unaffordable, despite the help-to-buy and housing benefit “rackets”, which in reality are direct taxpayer funded handouts to developers and buy-to-let landlords, effectively yet another cynical con to dumb down the more docile victims even further.

Factor in the inescapable fact that these houses are being aggressively marketed nationwide, and it necessarily follows that a proportion will be snapped up as second homes with many more being bought by out of Cornwall investors as buy to let assets that are subsequently let at the absolute maximum rental level the housing benefit system will bear, and all of it at taxpayers’ expense, while the landlords get all of the financial benefits that accrue, rather that the hard pressed tenants.

Again, your reticence with regards to the curse of second homes in your constituency is disgraceful, doing you no credit whatsoever!

A side effect of this is that inward migrants are being sucked into our already needlessly struggling community faster than the existing unfit for purpose infrastructure can reasonably absorb them, as the regular black alert overloads at Treliske and rapidly increasing traffic chaos testify beyond reasonable doubt.

In Falmouth the sheer number of student houses alone is robbing our council of serious sums of council tax income while local families are finding it ever more difficult to find homes in their own home town; I put it to you in the strongest possible terms that it cannot be a healthy situation, least of all for your re-election prospects.

To clarify, Cornish Solidarity is not against inward migrants per se, but we are most certainly opposed to the unreasonable pressures their relentless arrival is placing on us all. We want to see a rethink of mass hyper-development towards sustainable organic development majoring on local need, quality construction and the smooth integration of manageable numbers of incomers, in sync with, rather than as presently in advance of, infrastructure improvements, to accommodate their needs without unacceptable disruption to existing residents.

Cornish Solidarity puts it to you that both you and Cornwall Council’s first duty of care MUST be to your constituents and Cornwall Council’s council taxpayers, rather than to greedy corporate carnivores who buy influence via political patronage, to rampage through our Duchy, spreading an avalanche of concrete on our green fields without let, hindrance or any responsibility for the inevitable consequences that are becoming daily more evident.

Enough is Enough!

Your response to these points will be appreciated at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely

Kevin Bennetts
Gwennap
01209 862783

Cornish Solidarity is a non-political pressure group dedicated to the pursuit of ethical governance that makes Cornwall the best it can be for all who live in our amazing Duchy; we are not Cornish nationalists, we are Cornish realists.

Our Mission Statement is:

‘’The day that an elected representative or employed civil servant begins to view the electorate as something to be ridiculed or ignored is the day that he or she ceases to be fit for office.’’

Meanwhile, one former Cornish planning officer writes:

"Cornwall Council announced on BBC Spotlight news this morning that they intend to bring about 2,700 empty houses back into use (which is good IF they keep their word - a big IF), so they can knock that figure off the 52,000 houses, can't they? Moreover, that's about the number of houses planned for Langarth, so now there's absolutely no call to build those at all, is there? Saving all those gorgeous green fields. What say you, Cornwall Council?"

But this (below) is part of the problem - quick and easy cash:

www.westcountryland.com/project/31/east-langarth

"New Site Acquired. Delighted to confirm that Westcountry Land have acquired this site in Truro and will be building five luxury contemporary family homes. Purchase completed on Friday with construction commencing this week." - Just what young Truro families needed!!

One commentator noted:

"Luxury housing". So, not for we Cornish, then. The only time when we ever built for outsiders was the infamous, and thankfully short-lived, London over-spill programme in the 60s. Why are we doing it now? If people want to move here, they should take their chances with the existing market, as they always had to. It is not Cornwall Council's place to facilitate their desires, but to prioritise ensuring that the Duchy's own population are all housed."

Whilst another added:

"Look at all the acres of green fields that this company Westcountry Land are planning to cover in concrete - aided and abetted by Cornwall Council no doubt!"

And the Tyringham Action Group - Lelant reports:

"Complete destruction of historic stile and Cornish hedge on so called Gold status footpath Tyringham Lelant St Ives disgusting! This should not have happened"
 

And yet more corporate developers bringing mass homogenisation to Cornwall, and with generally low paid seasonal work and often not for locals (so not really creating any jobs, a bit like the supermarket myth)!

www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/travelodge-reveals-plans-seven-new-3119054

"At Wheal Friendly, St Agnes, grade 2 listed - permission denied once as World Heritage objected (among many others), but got through second time - no amendments. Bang goes one iconic Wheal house; a precedent set for further erosion of protected areas and potential to lose World Heritage for the coastline."

"What on earth has happened at St Columb Major on the Newquay Rd? This whole hedge row of trees has been cut down! It’s the middle of nesting season and we are in a climate emergency. We need need these trees. This is terrible and a true nature crime."

And where Falmouth's Mike Varney opened the floodgates to Swanpool, more destruction of the once sacred beautyspot:

https://cornishstuff.com/2019/04/25/wainhomes-resubmit-rejected-swanvale-plans/

Finally, to Cornwall Council, another petition pops up:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-building-on-green-agricultural-land-in-cornwall