Cormacgate has been long in gestation. This disturbing episode is but the tip of a very large very opaque iceberg.

Councillor Bob Egerton resigned from the council’s ruling cabinet this morning in protest at the authority’s failure to fully involve the Health and Safety Executive, or the police, and to produce a report which Mr Egerton described as “a work of fiction.”

A former Cormac employee was left with serious head injuries, and eventually forced into early retirement. Cornwall Reports understands that County Hall did ask its insurers if it could pay more in compensation but was told it could not. There are also questions about whether footage from security cameras could, or should, have formed part of any investigation.

Now the 46-strong Conservative group is looking at how it can force the council’s chief executive Kate Kennally to hold a meeting. The council has for weeks been using the Covid-19 restrictions as an excuse to avoid scrutiny, despite the government inviting local authorities to use video technology to restore democracy.

Describing the ruling Liberal Democrat-Independent administration as a “junta” the Tories already have more than a third of all votes and under normal circumstances could force any issue to a council chamber debate, and vote. They are now studying constitutional ways to force the council to meet.

“It is clear that the administration running Cornwall Council and some senior officers in both Cornwall Council and Cormac have some very serious questions to answer following the resignation of the cabinet member responsible for planning and the economy,” said the Conservatives.

“The Conservative Group has always called for transparency in dealings within both County Hall and its contractors.

“We demand an inquiry into what has happened over the years in order to ensure justice is demonstrably done and any wrongs that have occurred righted. In the event that there is not to be an urgent external investigation into this matter, perhaps this is a matter that the Audit Committee could look at , this being the only committee on Cornwall Council that is not chaired by a member of the ruling LibDem/Independent junta.
“It also casts the cabinet’s ongoing decisions to not hold meetings because of the lack of business into an even stranger light.

“Cornwall is already currently going through an unprecedented crisis and with a cabinet member now resigning because of incredibly serious allegations, holding meetings and allowing councillors the chance to both govern and be held to scrutiny has never been more important.”

IF THIS WASN'T SO SERIOUS IT WOULD BE FUNNY.

'I cancelled next month’s cabinet meeting because there is nothing to talk about'', says Cornwall Council leader Julian German.

Well ''whoopy doo'' Councillor German, could it have anything to do with the fact that the bunch of muppets you are supposed to oversee are speechless at their own stupidity with regard to the recent purchase of 100 acres of land at Langarth for £36 million?

All rushed through the day before an impending property crash was assured by the Covid-19 lockdown?

Some of us have long memories and Cornwall Council has merely raised the stakes - this outrage is far from over.

Recent developments, such as the announcement that senior employed Cornwall Council officers and the cabinet had made the decision to purchase 100 acres of land for the Langarth project at a cost of £36 million, or £360,000 an acre, has not gone down to well with council tax payers. This expensive commitment of their taxes has caused serious concerns about the continued questionable level of governance now much in evidence at Cornwall Council. To clarify and to avoid misunderstanding, only three members of the cabinet were actually involved, which questions whether employed officers’ persuasion was involved, as it had been in the past. It is known that a colleague of ours has made an official complaint to Cornwall Council’s Chief Executive on the grounds of senior officers’ conduct amounting to maladministration of taxpayers’ money. The attached copy will explain and confirm. Council taxpayers are entitled to ask the question: why have elected members allowed this officer-led project to reach this stage, when so much controversy and dubious proceedings, all lacking in transparency and accountability have transpired? The project lacks an Environmental Impact assessment report, and as there is no sign of proof of viability, the security of taxpayers’ money is not guaranteed.

It is alarming that elected members, who should be policing the project on our behalf, and in the opinion of many should be ‘calling in’ the land purchase decision, instead are only creating serious misgivings by the majority’s silence, all of which prompts taxpayers’ concerns and questions about the overall standards of administration. Believe me, this project will adversely impact the Council’s image for a long time to come; if something is not right, it is not right.

To Ms Kate Kennally, Cornwall Council Chief Executive, County Hall, Trelew Road, Truro, TR1 3AY. 5th April 2020.

Dear Ms Kennally,

As a Cornishman with long standing interest in the well-being of our counties administration I am very concerned about the latest episode of the Langarth Garden Village project which has travelled a long path of controversy since 2012, and during that time I have witnessed conduct which to put it politely has been questionable to say the least, that has certainly done nothing to enhance the reputations of those involved. This has now developed into a controversial saga driven by certain Cornwall Council employed officers lacking in transparency and accountability, a situation that has not found positive favour with many elected members or public consensus. I have now reached a point where, as a Council taxpayer, I can no longer remain silent and have now decided to express my concerns by way of an official complaint.

1. We now learn that on Friday 26th March Cornwall Council concluded a deal to purchase 100 acres of farmland, at a cost of £36 million, to pursue with the Langarth Garden Village project. This decision is a blatant dis-regard for the Government's guidance which states that land and housing transactions are to be paused because of the Corona-virus pandemic. In my opinion this officer led decision puts Cornwall Council in serious conflict with the UK Government, and could well place the council in a situation which could result in potential damage to the Council’s reputation and integrity, which in turn could have an adverse effect on Cornwall Council’s recognition by the Government in the future.

2. Considering past anomalies and indiscretions such as the past unauthorised spending of the £55 million by employed officers, as reported by the external auditors Grant Thornton, in my opinion this decision should have been one for elected members to decide not employed officers, the decision taken on Friday 26 March 2020 simply lacked the democratic process, transparency and accountability. and should be declared void.

3. There is also the question on why this amount of money, which obviously will have to be borrowed at council taxpayers expense, points to a commitment to the development of the Langarth Garden Village project, was spent on a project which has not yet proved to be financial benefit to Cornwall’s Council taxpayers. There is no consideration for the fact this is at a time when the Council’s income will be drastically reduced by the various financial giveaways introduced because of the National emergency. More importantly the Corona-virus pandemic has brought unprecedented times with serious negative fiscal impact on the World that will create knock on repercussions which will no doubt have adverse impact on the financial stability of National and Local economies including, more importantly, the property market. This will also prove that the price paid for the land, £36 million, (£360,000 an acre) was inflated and surely benefited the previous now delighted landowners. There appears to be no consideration for the likelihood of land prices plummeting,

4. The Langarth Garden Village project, if it comes to fruition will reduce the availability of over 100 acres of greenfield food producing land which would be a serious loss considering the future implications of the present pandemic emergency situation. There is the distinct possibility of a national and local requirement to produce more homegrown food, there appears to be no consideration of this possibility and should not have been ignored.

This also ignores the Prime Minister’s advice that housing development should only be constructed on brownfield sites.

5. The stadium, which will benefit from this land deal, is now a private venture with no public benefit at all. It also does not have a viable business plan, has always had a questionable background, including political political promise, and has the prospect of having to navigate many hurdles before becoming realistic.

I am sending this letter as a formal complaint taking into consideration of the points made above with regard to the decision made by Cornwall Council to commit £36 million of council tax payers money to purchase land for the Langarth Garden Village project, without a published Master Plan and as far as I am aware, the full financial implications.

My formal complaint is that this decision to commit £36 million of council taxpayers’ money to the project recorded above has amounted to maladministration of tax payers money.

I would appreciate confirmation of receipt of my complaint.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Rickard, St. Dennis.

AN OPEN LETTER TO CORNWALL COUNCIL.

Ladies & Gentlemen

Those who do not adapt rapidly to the changes which we are currently witnessing are doomed to fail. The mantra of endless growth is now a thoroughly discredited busted flush, like the largest tree, growth is finite before it inevitably topples in a storm.

If a tad more parochialism ruled the agenda, and communities were the way they should be, rather than the way they have been allowed to become - torn apart by the curse of second homes - life would be better for all.

Houses should be homes where young people make their starts in life, as they get their feet on the first rung of the property ladder, not lucrative investments to brag about at posh home counties dinner parties.

The simple fact of the matter being that this corona virus pandemic has been and continues to be fuelled by too much unnecessary travel.

It is not essential to have multiple holidays per year or a second home in some Cornish investment property hot-spot.
The hundreds of millions flying around, just because “they can”, have proven beyond reasonable doubt to be the root of the current problem.

The world for us has changed overnight and will continue to do so as the pandemic tightens its grip, and its rolling consequences make themselves felt as our future evolves and adapts to the circumstances.

Collectively we have been far too greedy, far too complacent, addicted to and dependent on technology rather than the kind of real human contact and day to day interaction that Cornish communities that invariably evolved for a reason, nurtured and benefited from for centuries.

This evolution and powerful sense of place and belonging creates a way of life that while difficult to explain to strangers exerts a powerful tie on those who truly belong there.

A real living viable community has deep roots and a high degree of resilience that cannot be replicated by plonking a few thousand houses in some convenient level fields and then filling it with sundry lifestyle seeking inhabitants who have no connection or sense of place with their new home.

The sense of belonging and the increasingly compromised way of life which Cornish people are privileged to enjoy, is diametrically opposed to the rootlessness of those who are looking for a lifestyle driven by unashamed consumerism and hedonism.

In the circumstances, the rootless invaders intent on profiting from the destruction of our way of life should not be unduly surprised by the hostility they encounter due to the existential threat their very presence in our midst poses to us all, in the critical times we are presently experiencing.

The 'Home Counties second home set' should perhaps, with humility, take a long hard look at themselves in a mirror and ponder what their reaction might be were the boot suddenly on the other foot, with potentially infected Cornish people decamping en mass to their own towns and cities.

We owe them nothing, because in reality, they give us nothing, they merely take from us all by sucking the life out of our towns and villages.

I relish the prospect of a huge property crash; houses will be cheaper for those who genuinely need them, while hopefully the speculators and corporate developers will go bust and give Cornwall the breathing space it so desperately needs, even if it does involve a little hardship in the shorter term

I sincerely hope and pray that those of you at Cornwall Council who have enthused about and facilitated the disaster you have collectively visited upon us, since Cornwall Council’s inception, take some time to reflect with a little humility on your collective folly.

Those who could have spoken out against it because of their misgivings, are just as guilty by association with those who have led the charge; I suggest that history will judge you all equally when the time comes.

Richard Branson is now proven beyond reasonable doubt to be a tax dodging man of straw looking for the next hand out, as entirely predicted by some, most definitely not the Messiah he has been portrayed in some circles within Cornwall Council.

This alien concept is a direct slap in the face to those of us who do actually fulfil useful roles in our communities, pay our taxes and contribute to Cornwall’s real economy, where “pie in the sky and jam tomorrow” never ever feature on our menu.

Yours aye

Kevin Bennetts

Some comments from the public:

"Mason, Egerton and co were warned, continuously, sometimes brutally, for several years, that this was complete madness... now they’ve wasted tens of millions of public £££ and hours, we’ve reached the disastrous consequences... and people will wake up and say “how did we let it get to this?!!”"

"When the core is rotten and corrupt it needs removing, point in case Cornwall Council has become rather infested and will continue to be so until the people can rid themselves of its corrupt and rotten core."

"The more you dig, the murkier the waters. Been investigating the fiasco of West Carclaze; it's just appalling the way CC has just sold Cornwall off."

"I submitted a formal complaint about the silencing of elected representatives in relation to Langarth. This was acknowledged by CC but remains unanswered - so it's off to the LG Ombudsman now. These public servants seem to consider they are beyond any questioning. Indeed I recall the Ombudsman noting his displeasure at CC's attitude to complainants no so long ago. In relation to the £36 million, I'll be writing to CC's auditors and asking them to investigate this seemingly ridiculous payment before development land prices go down faster than a rabbit on a promise."

"There must be some legal way they can be stopped. Anybody??? Us Residents seem to have no voice anymore, always being ignored. We live here, we pay our council tax. they are supposed to work for us, not these big developers who do not live here and do not understand our county. It's so depressing."

"Then perhaps they would like to discuss how they think it is justified that the ratio of CC staff earning (paying themselves) in excess of £100000 is greater than any other council in England ?"

"Councils are now receiving additional financial support from Goverment to help get through the virus emergency. When this is all over and there is time to reflect, Cornwall County Council might well be asked how much of Goverment emergency money was used in fact to keep up the in excess of £100000 council members."