Cornwall Councillor Andrew Mitchell, a prominent hyper-development apologist, has recently been reported on Cornwalllive as saying the work beginning on the construction of the new interim link road for Langarth is "a really exciting moment." He added "this is the first time people will actually see construction on the site."

One wonders why Mr. Mitchell should be so 'excited' at the prospect of the loss of more green space, loss of bio-diversity, increased congestion on our roads and ever-more pressure on sewerage which is already unable to cope with the consequences of unsustainable 'growth' in parts of Cornwall. The article also says that "the Council initially cited up to 2,700 homes but has since admitted it could be as many as 4,000." Curious choice of wording - to 'admit' something usually means owning up to doing something wrong or damaging. But no doubt the Council would not 'admit' to that, preferring instead to claim that unsustainable hyper-development, priced out of the reach of local residents, brings 'benefits' and 'improvements'.

An artist's impression of the ironically named 'garden village' shows a complete lack of any attempt at integrating Cornish distinctiveness - a failure that has become increasingly apparent in building sites across Cornwall which look totally alien, ugly and intrusive.

Mr. Mitchell's strange 'excitement' is hardly shared by those that commented on the Cornwalllivearticle, the overwhelming majority viewing Langarth as a disaster. One quite rightly asks "why do we need a new town?...when did the people of Cornwall vote for this?" adding that "Something does nor smell right in the way Cornwall is being allowed to be slowly concreted over. Does anyone have any answers?" Certainly, the Council has never been able to provide any rational or convincing answers to this question.

Another commentator bluntly says "the greatest enemy is the local Council". And Mr. Mitchell himself does not get off lightly in the comments section, with one claiming "Andrew Mitchell is a clown. I went to school with him and he couldn't think for himself if his life depended on it." Oh dear. Hardly a glowing reference.

To see the article and full set of comments, visit https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/work-starts-brand-new-road-4559855

Photo shows another mass estate application for Long Rock (TR20 8JQ)