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Tim Smit gets in on the One Cornwall act

Eden Chief Executive, Tim Smit, set out his vision for the unified council for Cornwall at a packed meeting in Newquay on 16 January 2008.


“I’m personally very excited about the opportunities this will bring” he said. “The challenge of climate change means that within our lifetimes there will be changes greater than we have ever seen. If we look back in 20 years’ time, would history show that we were bold, brave and ambitious enough to make a real difference? Our level of aspiration must be excellence. I’d like the new council to make Cornwall the greenest place in the world.”

Tim talked of the need to create a new culture of respect for public service and great leadership, and his desire to see a council that encouraged genuine discourse and real engagement;

“There are superb people in each of the seven councils and it is people not organisations that make change. Cynicism is an enemy to us all. We must give this a chance and protect each other from criticism” he urged delegates.

Tim was the keynote speaker at a One Cornwall “Stakeholder Day” chaired by Blair Thompson, Chair of the Cornwall Local Strategic Partnership. The aim of the day was to update organisations from all sectors on the progress towards the unified council.

The One Cornwall team is in place to work on the detailed transition. Programme Director, Mark Jones explained the timescales and process involved and invited delegates to contribute their ideas as to how the various elements of the new council could be developed.

Discussions on One Stop Shops for public services were led by John Ede from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Mary Cooper from the One Cornwall team.

The vision is to have local one stop shops for public services in each main town. They would all have the same customer care standards but could develop slightly differently to suit different communities and their needs.

Director of Public Health, Felicity Owen and Rob Andrew from the One Cornwall team talked about community networks and how they could empower local communities and help shape public services in the area.

Community networks will be the key to developing a stronger voice for local communities. The new council will have approximately sixteen community networks where residents and organisations will be able to have more of a say about what happens in their local area.

Felicity said she saw this as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for public services to get rid of bureaucracy and work together to deliver a joined up service to suit local people. Rob explained that key principles had been established; having a decision-making panel led by local ward members, regular public meetings, and joined up community planning with dedicated officer support. He added that there were no hard and fast rules on the detailed operation of the networks.

The One Cornwall team is keen for local people to get involved in developing a community network model to suit their own area. A number of pilots will be set up in the next few months to build on existing good practice and try out new ideas.

Malcolm Brown from Cornwall County Council and Sarah Mason from the Cornwall Association of Local Councils led discussions on a proposed electoral review which would decide the size of the new council and the new electoral boundaries.

Also speaking at the conference were Sheila Healy, Chief Executive of Cornwall County Council and Councillor David Whalley, Chair of the Joint Committee of district, borough and county councillors.

Councillor David Whalley (Lib Dem) said: “This is an amazing opportunity for the whole of Cornwall – not just for local government”.

Delegate, Eileen Bortey, is Chair of Council for Race Equality in Cornwall and Vice Chair of the Diversity Network for Cornwall:

“This has been very useful and informative,” she said. “I’ve had plenty of opportunities to feed in my views. The unified council for Cornwall holds enormous promise so let’s stay positive.”

Sue Guard from Penwith Community Development Trust added:

“There seems to be lots more positive thinking around now than there was a few months ago. We need to maximise the opportunities ahead.”

Notes for editors

Cornwall is one of only five county areas to have its bid for unitary status approved by government.

On April 1st 2009 the county, borough and district councils will be transformed into a single unified council for Cornwall. A team of officers from the seven councils is now in place working on the detailed programme to transform the seven councils into one.

The new council will provide:

• A strong voice for local communities
• Strong leadership
• Excellent, customer-focused, cost-effective services