Nadelik Lowen ha Bledhen Nowyth Da! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

(And for those who like a little seasonal mischief, follow this link for a look at some members of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet “getting into the Christmas spirit”.)

Earlier today I was lucky enough to be shown around the facilities at St Eval which were purpose-built for the American forces who had been stationed there until quite recently. It was quite extraordinary and left me reflecting on the different approaches adopted by the British and US governments to providing facilities to the armed forces.

Above is a Google Earth image which shows (clockwise from bottom left) a youth centre, a sports hall, a church (now deconsecrated) and a school/centre for younger children. The Americans don’t tend to do anything by half, and these facilities are arguably as good as (if not better than) anything you’d find in the UK. The ‘no expense spared’ attitude and attention to detail (individual picture hooks fitted with their own spirit levels) is in stark contrast to the reports of inadequate equipment and conditions endured by our own service men and women serving abroad. It is a testament to the skill of our forces that, in spite of everything, they are still regarded as the best in the world.

The other side of this is that these wonderful facilities are totally empty and surrounded by a seven foot high razorwire fence. Just over the road in St Eval itself local children cram into a portakabin which serves as a pre-school and the main community centre is based around buildings owned by the MoD which are falling into disrepair and have serious issues with asbestos.

As the time draws near when the MoD pulls further back from St Eval the existing facilities will come under serious threat. I would hope that Cornwall Council will be able to play a positive role in the future of the community and I will certainly be trying my hardest to facilitate this. In an ideal world the Council would acquire the US facilities for the benefit of St Eval and the surrounding area, but I’m fully aware that such a scenario is a long way off. Nevertheless it would be nothing short of a tragedy if the village’s community facilities came under threat while, just over the road, a wonderful resource lay untapped behind the razorwire.

As I posted here a couple of days ago, Cornwall Council’s Draft Budget Proposal was discussed at Cabinet today and included a mere line or two about proposals to move to fortnightly rubbish collections in the east and west of the Duchy (including North Cornwall).

The Lib Dem Group Leader, Doris Ansari, was the first to raise this issue at today’s meeting and Andrew Wallis (Independent) also launched a strong attack on the proposals. (Cllr Wallis writes about the meeting here and my colleague Alex Folkes’ take on proceedings can be found here.) Neither the Leader, Alec Robertson, nor the Cabinet Member for Waste, Julian German, were prepared to rule out ‘Alternate Weekly Collections’ and Cllr German even went on to say it would be “foolhardy” not to give this serious consideration.

Many people who have spoken to me about this over the last couple of days are deeply worried about this because, while in theory such proposals might reduce costs and increase recycling rates, in practice they could lead to odours, problems with rats and an epidemic of fly-tipping.

The surprising thing about all of this is that no one from the Conservative-led Council has volunteered this information to the public at any point (other than in a line or two buried on page 52 of a report) and no-one at Cabinet today could have been in any doubt that, had Doris and Andrew not raised the issue, this would have quietly slipped through to the next stage of the budget process without comment. I’ve written before about the administration’s cavalier attitude to openness and transparency, but it really is starting to go beyond a joke now.

Cornwall Council are planning to introduce fortnightly rubbish collections within two years if the Conservative-led administration passes its budget in February.

The proposals are tucked away in the smallprint of the Cabinet’s 2010-1 Budget papers and would see the east and the west of Cornwall affected while the old Carrick and Restormel areas would retain weekly coverage - for now.

Strangely enough the administration has mentioned nothing about this in public and I wonder if the two year time gap has anything to do with a General Election next year. This proposal will come as a shock to many, not least because it doesn’t affect the Truro area where Conservative representation is considerably stronger than here in the east.

The Liberal Democrat group at Cornwall Council will fight this all the way and I would expect many Independent councillors will join us. Let’s hope so.

As my colleague Alex Folkes writes on his ‘A Lanson Boy‘ blog, Mebyon Kernow have entered General Election mode by trying to claim David Penhaligon as one of theirs. MK Leader Dick Cole quotes an obscure article on his blog that claims (without any evidence to back it up, of course) that the late Mr Penhaligon would have endorsed his party had he not been tragically killed in a car accident three days before Christmas in 1986. I’m sure an endorsement from David Penhaligon is something that any political party would seek, such was his reputation, but I’m afraid we can only go with the evidence as we know it.

David had been a Liberal MP since October 1974 and was a proud Cornishman. He was a keen supporter of the SDP/Liberal Alliance and was among the first proponents of a merger of the two parties (some years before David Steel started the merger process which led to the formation of the Liberal Democrats). There is no evidence anywhere that he ever endorsed any other political party.

I was lucky enough to meet David Penhaligon when I was (I think) fourteen years old, and I was struck by his charisma and charm. Subsequently I came to know his widow, Annette, very well as we both served on Cornwall County Council. At that time the loose organisation that now calls itself the ‘Liberal Party’ (the remains of the merger refuseniks) always claimed that David would have joined with them were he still alive. Annette used to become very bored of this, and she was always quick to squash these claims when they came up. She never had any doubt where her husband’s political home was, and - I can safely say - she knew him better than anyone else.

At Full Council this morning I asked the Cabinet Member for Children, Conservative Sally Bain, if she welcomed the result of the recent referendum held in St Mabyn and St Tudy. (You may remember that 97.3% of the residents of both villages voted to keep their schools within the villages.)

You might think that this would be an easy opportunity for Mrs Bain to gracefully accept the will of local residents and offer her congratulations to them for pulling together to defend their community, particularly since the initial proposals for closures have now been dropped by the Council and the Diocese. Not a bit of it. Unfortunately Mrs Bain felt unable to welcome the result (”I don’t know whether to answer yes or no to that”) and, astonishingly, she went on to question whether the St Tudy and St Mabyn Action Group were really acting in the best interests of their children! For a brief moment I found myself lost for words but managed to recover in time to assure her that, yes, the parents of children at St Mabyn and St Tudy Schools did act in the best interests of those children and that those communities would be very disappointed to hear that there was any doubt about that.

Unfortunately the Conservative-led administration is running into all sorts of trouble on the issue of rural schools. It emerged today that around a third of Cornwall’s primary schools have been highlighted by the administration as being ‘at risk’ of closure, although of course they have (in the classic form of words) ’no plans’ to close any schools. It would appear that the considerable campaigning expertise in the villages of St Mabyn and St Tudy may yet be needed elsewhere in Cornwall in the coming months and years. Rest assured, that expertise will come with the best interests of the children very much in mind.

(A related post on Alex Folkes’ “A Lanson Boy” blog can be seen here.)

Some months ago I had my arm twisted into taking the role of Herr Flick in Camhayle Theatre Club’s production of Allo Allo. The months of rehearsal have drawn to an end and tonight is the opening night of a three show run at Wadebridge Town Hall (Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th & Saturday 5th December). This has absolutely nothing to do with my role as a councillor, but I’m nevertheless taking this opportunity to give the show a shameless plug in the hope that a few more people will turn up on the night. Needless to say, the show is absolutely hilarious (mostly for completely the wrong reasons) and surely has to be worth it for the joy of watching a Cornwall Councillor lose the last few threads of his dignity. Tickets are £6 (available on the door) and the shows start at 7.30pm.

The St Tudy and St Mabyn Action Group, set up to prevent the closures of the two village schools, has scored a stunning victory on the back of yesterday’s overwhelming referendum result. Representatives from Cornwall Council confirmed at a meeting in St Mabyn last night that they have dropped plans to replace the two schools with a single facility at Longstone or anywhere else.

This follows an impressive campaign from the Group which culminated in a 97.3% vote rejecting the plans put forward by the Council and the Diocese. Well done to all those involved and all credit to the officials from both bodies who have listened and heard the voices of the two communities. Rural schools will face many strong threats over the coming months and years, but this is still a great result for ‘People Power’.

The result of the St Tudy & St Mabyn Schools Referendum has been announced live on Pirate FM by residents Chris Mugford and Matt Slater. On a 70% turnout (higher than the last General Election) 97.3% voted “Yes” to the question: “Do you agree that both St.Mabyn and St.Tudy should keep their schools within their respective villages?”. This is a pretty clear message to Cornwall Council and the Diocese, and I’m looking forward to their response (I’m guessing it will include the phrase “no plans to close the schools” while going on to talk about a potential new site which, if built, would inevitably result in the closure of the two schools).

This result is a fantastic demonstration of unity from the two villages and follows on from what I felt was a very constructive meeting at St Tudy School last night. Parents and residents met representatives of Cornwall Council and the Diocese (although the Portfolio Holder was not present) and, although it is still pretty clear which direction those two bodies want to push this issue, there were at least signs that some meaningful dialogue might be possible. It was also officially revealed, as I posted here a month ago, that the Longstone site has been ruled out as a potential location for a new school due to insurmountable planning issues.

Perhaps the most extraordinary revelation at the meeting was that the Diocese had not even explored the possibility of using the money earmarked for a new school at St Tudy to upgrade the existing facility. A cynic might conclude that they already had a firm alternative plan in mind…

So let’s hope that last night’s meeting in St Tudy (and tonight’s in St Mabyn) mark the start of a meaningful conversation between the Council, the Diocese and the two villages - after the resounding referendum result there can be no doubt that St Mabyn and St Tudy are in very fine voice.