Below, an interesting set of emails between the council and residents:
(Apologies for the length of the update….)
From: campaigner
Sent: 03 October 2019 14:21
To: Lowena Tremore <lowenatremore@hotmail.co.uk>
Subject: RE: CCN005/19/20:Cllr.Dulcie Tudor
Dear Ms Tremore
Thank you for your response, I suggest you have struck the head of a very large nail, a very hard blow with a lump hammer, and agree wholeheartedly with your obviously deep concerns, which more and more victims of Cornwall Council are also expressing.
On the question of the unexplained £53 million highlighted by auditors, I recently posted a question to full council on this point; as usual the reply I received was impeccably technically correct, but it did not reassure me that our money enjoys particularly competent stewardship, when the auditors' criticism mentioned missing checks and balances that created a potential for fraud; in the context of our council, that concern is particularly scary, the more so given the still unexplained vaporisation of a further £2 million attributable to a certain Mr Betty.
Endless borrowing implies potentially serious inherent financial risk, the more so given the past performance of Cornwall Council in this area, which in a worst case scenario would almost certainly leave no council officer accountable for any loss or indeed the considerable financial implications incumbent on already hard pressed council taxpayers.
As if Cornwall did not have enough problems to contend with the ‘’growth agenda’’, while not actually solving existing problems (like for example truly affordable housing in any meaningful way) is actually creating a whole raft of even more intractable future problems, which will increase exponentially as the growth agenda continues to be rolled out.
Effectively, Cornwall’s body and soul is being sacrificed on the altar of corporate expediency in the name of the ‘’growth agenda’’, which places profit before people, the nasty practice of cosying up to arguably ‘’dodgy developers’’ is an outrage that seriously compounds the perceived damage our council's reputation.
I have no idea when councillors will wake up, if ever; at present they mostly (with a few notable exceptions) fulfil the role of useful fools wheeled out to rubber stamp, via the cabinet, the diktats of what increasingly appears to be that impenetrable corps of senior officers, who on close examination, run our council with a rod of iron; the pretence of democracy will not, I wager, stand even a cursory examination, so blatant have the democratic abuses become.
Meanwhile our beloved Cornwall increasingly groans under an ocean of concrete and tarmac; something must be done before it is too late, so please spread the word and ramp up the pressure on those responsible.
________________________________________
From: Lowena Tremore <lowenatremore@hotmail.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, October 3, 2019 12:44:58 PM
Subject: Fwd: CCN005/19/20:Cllr.Dulcie Tudor
Thank you for sharing your views which I’m tending to agree with, when I see what they’ve been doing to Falmouth!!
And where’s the £53m unauthorised Council cash that’s been spent by John Betty (?), and highlighted by the auditors as a warning of possible fraud, and that you quite rightly enquired about??
Are councillors happy to keep borrowing on the one hand, whist cash leaks out their pockets like this? It’s a lot of money to be badly spent...
When are councillors going to wake up and stand up for their communities, instead of meekly accepting the status quo of cash for developers?!!
Best,
LT
Falmouth
From: campaigner
Date: 3 October 2019 at 12:03:06
Subject: RE: CCN005/19/20:Cllr.Dulcie Tudor
The resignation of Mr Masters hints at the turmoil that is so obviously bubbling away just under the surface within Kremlin Kernow, his departure is not the huge loss it ought to be were he to have stood up for Cornwall in the manner one might reasonably expect from a fellow Countryman who is obviously intelligent and hard working, regrettably Mr Masters appears to have chosen to say or do little of direct benefit to those, who via their taxes, he was paid to serve.
I am distraught that years of campaigning for something better have borne so little fruit, we have been cynically betrayed by those elected councillors who orbit the great wrongdoings surrounding the ‘’Growth Agenda’’ that have motivated us to speak up despite being vilified for so doing, while those on the inside who could have done something have chosen to sit idly by, saying and doing virtually nothing to stem the rot that is now evident.
The rumours of a deeply divided cabinet bode even less well, given that there has never been a time when unity in a common cause was more vital, as ye sow so shall ye reap, the politically motivated shenanigans that have engulfed our council, effectively turning it into a compliant puppet regime are a disgrace to all concerned while the entirely predictable malign consequences forged from such bitter division are now inevitable.
Cornwall is garrisoned in the iron grip of the colonial power beyond the Tamar, the Cornish have been cast into the wilderness with little or no say in their own future, as Cornwall’s darkest hour approaches there can be little doubt that history will be a harsh judge of those responsible for its destruction as a unique place, a land apart.
________________________________________
Sent: Thursday, October 3, 2019 10:30:24 AM
Subject: Re: CCN005/19/20:Cllr.Dulcie Tudor
I knew Paul around 15-20 years ago when we had daughters in the same class. A very nice man who worked hard and put on great BBQs, but like so many others, and especially in his very senior position of power, what did he actually achieve to stop the rot or protect HIS Cornwall???
Not sure... like many others who see no wrong in their council colleagues or are too spineless to speak out against the change they see before them every day, totally institutionalised and “owned” by the system, at every level.
Cornish born and bred, maybe, but useless to the Cornish as a guardian of their land, children, culture, heritage and environment.
As far as I’m concerned, and as nice a Cornish fellow as he is, Paul Masters has been an abject failure for Cornwall, at best, and possibly complicit in the carnage we’re still watching daily....
Bert may wish to comment here, but Truro has turned into a disaster zone of daily traffic chaos, toxic air, UK-homogeneous retailing, little community cohesion and unrecognisable from the city I lived and worked in as recently as twenty years ago. All for the sake of developers, retail chains and that untouchable guru of holy truths: economic growth and progress... and enforced by an army of foreign council officers; total bullshit.
On 2 Oct 2019, at 22:36, wrote:
Dear All,
I am so sad to learn that Mr. Paul Masters has now resigned from CC. He was the last remaining Cornishman in the hierarchy and now we are ruled entirely by the English so much for the FCPNM.
It might be a good idea to ascertain how many indigenous Cornish are actually employed in any roles of authority at CC - in my opinion the situation is becoming intolerable.
When the Chief Solicitor sat in the Chairman’s Chair at the AGM - it said everything to me - the elected members have surrendered democracy to the Delegation Agreement…. Even the l972 Local Government Act appears to count for nothing.
Best wishes,
On 2 Oct 2019, at 12:37, wrote:
Craig
I have followed this thread with interest, noting the stonewalling passive- aggressive behaviour of Cornwall Council at every stage of the process which you have quite rightly initiated, and which had Cornwall Council been truly transparent, accountable and democratic would not have been necessary.
Putting aside the ‘’sinister underbelly’’ as a figment of Councillor Tudor’s lurid imagination when under pressure, despite her reprehensible behaviour she is in reality an irrelevance, a mouthy strident lightweight who should not be allowed to enjoy the oxygen of publicity which will merely further her own increasingly nefarious political ambitions.
A clear principle is at stake, starting from the baseline that from a personal perspective I dispute that trust in Cornwall Council is wafer thin, indeed I would argue that there has been no trust whatsoever for some considerable time, this is clearly reinforced by the current saga.
The stark reality being that the people of Cornwall have been sold out by Cornwall Council and are being sacrificed on the altar of corporate ambition, where there is no place for roots or traditions let alone respect for the FCPNM.
Mr Mansell is an efficient gatekeeper charged with deflecting dissension away from his superiors, from his masters' perspective without doubt he is doing a good job; as such he is clearly not working in our interests at all, however much smoke he blows up our backsides, he is but an openly affable foe with an extensive armoury of waffle fudge and obfuscation at his disposal to frustrate and wear down those who dare to challenge the Kremlin Establishment, which is far more sinister than any so called Cornish Nationalist, sinister or otherwise.
Mr Mansell is a craftsman skilled in his dark art and should be respected as such, that suggests that to take matters further a strategy should be devised to go over or around him to avoid an head to head confrontation that will generate far more heat than light, which would serve no useful purpose whatsoever.
Best regards
________________________________________
From: Craig Weatherhill <craig@agantavas.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 11:27:17 AM
To: Mansell Simon <Simon.Mansell@cornwall.gov.uk>
Subject: Re: CCN005/19/20:Cllr.Dulcie Tudor
Simon ker,
First of all, let us be very clear that Cornwall Council does not own the FCNM. The Cornish national minority does.
It is not for the Council to decide whether to implement it or to ignore it for the sake of convenience. We did NOT spend several decades going to the effort of getting us included on the FCNM, just to stand by and watch it being shamefully misused in this way. It is the Council’s duty, being included as a governmental “party” to the FCNM, to observe and implement it in its entirety, and without exception.
As I stated previously, the Equality Act is entirely irrelevant and the Assessment Officer should never have brought it up. “Race” is irrelevant. No less than THREE of the FCNM’s Articles confirm that discrimination against national minorities, regardless of “race” definition, can not only be committed, but Article 4(1) expressly prohibits it. End of story, except that the Assessment Officer chose to ignore this entirely. “The sinister underbelly of Cornish nationalism” discriminates, and that cannot be argued against (and I am STILL waiting to hear what the lady’s definition is of “Cornish nationalism”).
The array of non-answers that we are getting from Cornwall Council only serves to force me, reluctantly, into further action, and that will be to bring a formal complaint against the Assessment Officer. I shall compile this over the next few days.
“Accountability” has to be meaningful, if this Council is ever to regain the trust of the Cornish public and, right now - with this whitewashing of Councillor Tudor’s deplorable conduct, her ignoring of the Assessment’s requirements, and serious ongoing planning issues - that trust is now wafer-thin.
Gen bolonjedh da,
Craig
Separately, and coming back to the efforts by developers to build loads more mass unaffordable executive houses which would force the closure of the last remaining Cornish granite quarry:
These are the minutes of the planning meeting I attended. They are not a true or accurate record of the meeting I attended, where council officers denied all of the legitimate objections raised by the parish council, quarry workers and residents. The reasons for refusing were ultimately tepid so they will be overthrown at appeal. This record is false:
Agenda item - PA18/04092: Helford Atlantic Ltd - Land off Antron Way, Antron Way, Mabe Burnthouse, TR10 9HS - Cornwall Council
https://democracy.cornwall.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=77988
On 2019 September 26, at 14:03 wrote:
Bloody scandalous!!
How do you report that? And to whom?
Having witnessed Councillor Desmond’s objections to minutes at full council meeting voted down (where Egerton’s words were not properly recorded in the minutes, thus ensuring an improper record of what Egerton stated about land at Langarth in the official meeting/minutes), it's hard to see how anyone will get these amended/corrected. Cornwall Council are beyond a farce, they’re full morally deficient and autocratic. Democracy and common sense have long since sailed out of Cornwall...
On 25 Sep 2019, at 20:36, wrote:
You have captured the essence of it all
It is outlandish, bizarre and frankly unacceptable that our Council and its officers collectively behave in such a corrupted cavalier manner, oblivious to reason or censure from those affected whilst blatantly pandering to the likes of Inox, Venn and Saltmarsh.
The incidence of this behaviour is not isolated, it is endemic throughout the planning department, cabinet and a worryingly significant number of ward councillors which suggest that the entire structure is institutionally corrupt and therefore unfit for purpose in its present form.
The time has come to stop this nonsense and blow this outrageous situation wide open.
On 25 Sep 2019, at 19:12, wrote:
Dear All,
There is evidence, Cllr Harris comments about Langarth and its viability, and his opinion of the cabinet’s lack of understanding of figures, Mrs Carlyon experience at SWW AGM about water and sewage, Bob Egerton's turnaround, rumours of bullying, the stadiums business case which lacks reality, the unauthorised spending of £53 million on contracts, Betty's unauthorised spending of £2.5 million, schools, doctors, Treliske, roads, emissions, loss of greenfield food producing farm land, adverse effect on climate change, express our concerns, my thinking is to present a picture that will make him realise there is no smoke without fire. I believe in bombardment, numbers cannot be dis-regarded. If he is not told he will never know. At least my plan it is an attempt, I have written mine.
Councillors and our MPs are useless, we must do something.
Kind regards,
On 24/09/2019 12:38, wrote:
Please note that several CCs have now responded positively to the (private and individual) Cornish Homes email sent out to them.
I spoke at length to Cllr **** this morning.
He's absolutely seething at the corruption happening under his very nose without anyone doing anything about it, simply because councillors, and specifically cabinet councillors are completely controlled and spineless. He even overheard Bob Egerton before the full meting last week, telling an officer he didn't agree with the response he was due to read out to a public question, but the legal officer told him he MUST read it exactly as written!!!
***** has stated emphatically that it is the the officers who COMPLETELY and ABSOLUTELY run the council. Councillors just watch and rubber stamp. Any questions or dissent is simply stamped out by officers at every level. This is Common purpose on a grand scale. The "master plan" totally bypasses democracy in Cornwall; some councillors play along with it and see if they can profit from it; some think they can talk their way out of it; some are marginalised; some are institutionalised and some go to sleep.... It's tragic!
Remember, it's Bob Egerton who highlighted the potential Langarth fraud by Inox in 2012; he's now the mouthpiece for the whole project!!!
There must be a link somewhere between Inox, John Betty, Ian Saltmarch, Marcel Venn, Kate Kennally, KH, Dickie Evans/Cornish Pirates, Mike Eathorne-Gibbons, Tim Dwelly and possibly even Bob Egerton. Barry says some councillors are definitely on the take, whilst senior planning officers are compromised by their own (illegal) participation in planning applications....!! The corruption up there is rife, but the army of officers threaten councillors (involved) and close the wagons on any outside interference. It's quite shocking an d frightening.
On 25 Sep 2019, at 11:11, wrote:
If all this is true, ***** and the others need to expose this properly. But real evidence is required, which will be hard to obtain........it's hard to feel any respect for councillors like Egerton, who is reduced to parroting replies written by nameless officers when answering questions from the public at Council meetings.