The leader of Reform UK at the local authority, Paul Ashton, told its Liberal Democrat/Independent cabinet on Wednesday (July 29) that if the Langarth ‘garden village’ project near Truro fails it will be a “public disaster” for Cornwall Council.
Langarth is the biggest project Cornwall Council has ever achieved planning permission for.
The project to build up to 4,000 low-carbon homes across five phases over a 20- to 25-year period, alongside two primary schools, health facilities, retail spaces and community hubs has been increasingly delayed due to the economic downturn this decade.
While expenditure remains within the approved capital budget of £260m, land values have weakened, infrastructure costs have increased and the timing of development has been delayed.
This week’s cabinet meeting heard that “substantial progress” has been achieved, which includes planning permissions in place, a design code established and major strategic infrastructure delivered, including the Northern Access Road which opened in May.
However, many councillors feel progress still isn’t being made.
Addressing council leader Cllr Leigh Frost, Cllr Dulcie Tudor – the member for the Threemilestone and Chacewater division which covers Langarth – said: “Last year you said you would be ‘bloody livid’ if there were still no homes at Langarth by the end of this term.
“Do you, Cllr Frost, think that anyone will be living in a house at Langarth by the time your leadership ends in 2029?”
He replied: “I believe that there will be houses delivered at Langarth by 2029, yes, because I’ll be bloody livid if they’re not.”
Cllr Karen La Borde – who represents Gloweth, Malabar and Shortlanesend, near Langarth – told the meeting: “Cllr Tudor and I are becoming increasingly frustrated. I think that we’re at the end of our tether.
“In 2022 the council promised that housing would start on Langarth in 2023 and the first occupation was promised in 2024, followed by a delivery rate of around 150 homes per year.
“Also, in November last year another delivery plan was promised in the spring of 2026 with an extra £1.5m of investment and yet here we are in July discussing again a delivery plan that we’re not seeing.”
The cabinet was asked to sign off a recommendation that reduces overall programme costs and brings forward the delivery of housing which will be part of a full business plan to be presented in December.
Cllr La Borde added: “This council has currently spent over £193m on the Langarth project and pays at least £8m a year to service the debt that we’ve incurred on it. Now I find in this report that it’s actually costing us £1.1m a year to run a company under Treveth (Langarth Garden Village Property Holdings LLP) to manage the delivery that we don’t yet have a plan for and have paid an extra £1.5m for.”
She asked how confident cabinet members are that the current model for delivery of homes at Langarth is actually working.
“The council has promised housing at Langarth yet it only delivers paperwork. Does this council believe increasing its financial exposure even more, and witnessing repeated delays, represents an unacceptable risk to Cornwall taxpayers?”
Cllr Frost responded: “Do we believe this model is working? No. That’s why this paper suggests moving to a different model. We will have a full business plan coming in December, so this is an interim arrangement.
“I’m as fed up as you are. I want to see houses at Langarth. We’ve been through all the pain, we’ve delivered the road, now’s the time to deliver houses and I genuinely believe this is how it’s going to happen.”
The meeting was told that the council was advancing in its attempt to gain detailed reserved matters planning approval while discussions are ongoing with developers, meaning the process of delivering the homes can be accelerated.
Cllr Rob Parsonage said it was vital that the council has the detailed plan to go forward with housing by the end of the year. “If that is not available, I would suggest the council and Treveth [the council’s development company] should be looked at seriously on who’s taking this forward.”
“There’s been a lot of frustration over a number of years,” added Cllr Paul Ashton. “I think it’s fair to say that this is probably the best way forward, but I think what we’re saying today is it can’t fail.
“This has to work – it will be a public disaster for the council if this can’t be resolved.”