Altarnun Parish Council December 2024 Meeting Report

The most important news to emerge from the December Altarnun Parish Council meeting was that a meeting between Ben Maguire MP and Altarnun councillors accompanied by Cornwall Councillor Adrian Parsons had taken place in November at which Mr Maguire committed his support to the community and the Safer Plusha Action Group (SPAG) to forcefully push for a graded separated junction at Plusha to become a reality. With the MP underpinning the collective efforts that are the preoccupancy of all the local parishes and the action group, it seems that, maybe, there is some hope that the government departments who hold the power and purse strings will be persuaded to sanction a substantive scheme at Plusha to bring an end to the very sad fatalities we have witnessed this year.

Councillors approved and resolved to select Cllr Dan Wendon to be the parish council’s representative at the SPAG table. His well informed and no nonsense approach will be greatly welcomed.

It has been five years since the Parish Council increased its Precept demand to the local authority. During that time the parish has brought to fruition previously agreed initiatives for the benefit of all, and also created more functions and is proposing to devolve more from Cornwall Council. Costs, as we are all aware, have risen dramatically in the meantime, which resulted in councillors approving an increased Precept demand for the 2025/26 financial year in the sum of £19,500. Early indications are that this will add £9.73 to a Band D annual Council Tax bill. Therefore the decision was not taken lightly, but to maintain the effectiveness and value the Parish gets from it’s council, there was little choice because its general fund reserve will be almost exhausted by the end of March if all of the expected business as usual expenditure is met. Whilst far from being ideal the council is aware that potential financial risks are mitigated in the short term by the other earmarked reserves it holds. However these are not finite and have also reduced in the past year. It is also worthy of note that the council will also have to rely on income from other sources to balance its budget, as it has done in prior years.

In planning matters councillors supported the proposed re-positioning of stables without compliance with Condition 2 of decision notice PA23/06810 dated 12/10/2023. at Old Hay House Altarnun. The applicants now want to move the block one width away from a boundary hedge.

The other applications dealt with on the evening were for the removal of an agricultural occupancy condition on Trezibbett Lodge Bolventor and secondly, a new driveway to the residential property known as Oak Barn at South Carne. After discussion and reference to the comprehensive suite of documents that accompanied the applications, Altarnun councillors were minded to support both proposals.

It was also reported that Cornwall Councillors agreed proposals under PA24/04052 which was decided at the planning committee meeting in November. The application was tabled by Mr & Mrs J Smith for a temporary agricultural workers caravan on land near Carne Manor. The permission granted is for a term of three years only.

All other goings on, which in the main were purely ‘housekeeping matters’ and will be published in the full minutes as usual.

The January parish council meeting is being nudged on a bit due to the first Wednesday of the New Year being New Years Day and will be held on Wednesday 8th January 2025 at 7.30pm in Altarnun Village Hall. All are very welcome and may we wish you a peaceful, happy and successful 2025.