Annual Report for the year 2018/2019
It has been a busy year for the council with councillors aiming to ensure that we represent our parishioners well and spend and invest our precept wisely.
The environment we work in is changing rapidly, Cornwall Council has a focus on its statutory duties and the devolution of its remaining services where this is possible.
As a Parish council, we are consulted on local Planning Applications by Cornwall Council. Sometimes this can be frustrating when we feel our voice carries insufficient weight. To strengthen the local voice, we have continued our focus on developing a Neighbourhood Plan with our Steering Group which includes volunteers and have received a government grant to commission work from consultants to progress this. During the year, following consultation we have reviewed and confirmed settlement boundaries, agreed our Local Landscape Character Assessment and now begun to produce the full Plan document ready for final consultation and referendum.
Our focus in our work as a consultee and our developing plan has been to ensure that the special protection the Parish has through the AONB, the World Mining heritage area and our conservation areas are upheld. We continually press for our environment to be sustained and enhanced by any new planning proposal and expect both a high quality of development and appropriate enforcement. We have already ensured that the Parish has met more than its minimum requirement of housing consents required by the Cornwall Local Plan. Our remaining unmet need is for affordable homes and the recent completion of the 18 new affordable homes was very good news. We are also working with a Housing Association to make further provision elsewhere in the Parish.
We are acutely aware of traffic issues relating to speed and parking. Following local consultation Cornwall Council are now implementing a Traffic Regulation Order for parking restrictions in Goldsithney and Perranuthnoe, and in respect of the A394 in Rosudgeon, following pressure from the Parish Council and Cornwall Councillor Sue Nicholas, Cornwall Council have agreed to provide enhanced speed monitoring which we hope will improve matters. We also continue to request that any new development on this stretch of the A394 also provides footpaths to enhance pedestrian safety and we have asked that priority be given for further traffic calming measures in Fore Street/West End Goldsithney.
We continue to press for an early implementation of the footpath/cycleway from Marazion to Goldsithney and have met with Cornwall Council and St Aubyns estate to progress this. We have been pleased to see the completion of the ascetic improvement of the roundabout at the top of the Marazion by-pass supported By Cllr Nicholas and Courtlands.
The Council has continued to support community activity and wellbeing both directly through the maintenance of the Play Area and through upgrading defibrillators provision in the Parish, and, indirectly through grants to Community organisations such as St Piran’s Hall, and the provision of a grant for Christmas trees. We have continued with the Parish award for individual contributions to the Community, won this year by Noel Elliott. There are further projects being considered for the future including the provision of a bus shelter in Perranuthnoe and green gym equipment.
All of this would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of my colleagues on the Parish Council who give their time voluntarily to help the community and the dedication of our Clerk James Jacoby who will shortly be retiring. I thank them all and commend our annual report to you.
Andy Moore, Chair, Perranuthnoe Parish Council May 2019