independent Cornish news and comment

TOO MANY HOUSES PLANNED FOR THE ST AUSTELL AREA

Eco-town proposal has bypassed the democratic process


A leading councillor on Restormel Borough Council has criticised the Government decision to short-list IMERYS’ proposal for an eco-town to be located on a number of sites near St Austell. The proposal includes 5,000 new homes and about 70 hectares of employment land.

Cllr Dick Cole, who is also MK’s prospective parliamentary candidate for St Austell and Newquay, believes that the amount of housing planned for the St Austell Area is unsustainable.

As the Chairman of Restormel’s Policy and Scrutiny 4 Committee, which deals with planning policy and regeneration matters, he also believes that support for the eco-town proposal could impact on attempts to construct a cohesive economic strategy for St Austell/St Blazey and the Clay Area.

“Unelected SW quangos expect the district of Restormel to accommodate 15,700 houses over the next twenty years, which equals a 35% increase in housing stock across the Borough. With the eco-town proposal, it is clear that the level of development would be even higher in the St Austell Area” he said.
“Such a large amount of house-building is clearly not about meeting local needs and is excessive and unsustainable. It is my view that the implications of such growth has not been thought through.”

Cllr Dick Cole was particularly critical of how the Government has handled the whole eco-town initiative.

“The statement from central government claims that the proposal ‘forms part of a major regeneration programme which is being taken forward with extensive involvement between IMERYS and Restormel BC, Cornwall CC and South West RDA.’

“The truth is that, in advance of the short-listing, the Government never sought Restormel Borough Council’s view about the eco-town proposal, in terms of its scale, location or appropriateness. The Imerys proposal has simply bypassed the democratic process thus far.”

Cllr Cole has also served on the Area Action Force and is the Chairman of Restormel’s China Clay Community Consultative Committee. He has been heavily involved in the work of producing economic strategies for the area.
“Restormel Borough Council has been working hard to produce regeneration strategies for St Austell/St Blazey and the China Clay Area, which will soon be going out to consultation.

“This work has focussed on identifying what is best for this area in terms of economic development and identifying the best schemes for employment land. But now we are being told by central government that we may have to support all of IMERYS’ proposals and, as far as I am concerned, this means the work on the Council’s strategy for the area may be undermined as a result.

“It remains my view that local politicians, elected here in Cornwall should be making the decisions about how Cornwall is developed in the future. Local politicians should decide how much housing is built, where it is built and what sites are redeveloped for employment land.
“It is wrong for central government to dictate to Cornwall from afar.”