December 6, 2024

South West News

South West News from Gloucestershire to Cornwall

Busy agenda for final Cornwall Council cabinet meeting of 2023

Cornwall Council’s cabinet will meet in Truro next week to discuss items including pedestrian routes to schools, home care and the proposed new Mid-Cornwall Metro.

Also on the agenda is the minerals safeguarding for Cornwall and public questions for cabinet members.

The meeting, the final time the committee will meet in 2023, will take place in the Trelawny Room at County Hall (Lys Kernow) in Truro on Wednesday, 13 December, starting at 10am.

The cabinet will be considering a paper detailing the findings of an engagement exercise looking at 16 routes to school across Cornwall which have been assessed as suitable for walking, but for which free transport is still being provided.

The views of parents, carers and other stakeholders have been sought while a decision on the future provision of free transport is decided. 

Anyone currently receiving free transport will not be affected by any changes and all the initial routes identified as part of this exercise will be reviewed to confirm their “suitable” status before we cease awarding free travel assistance for future applicants.

Also due for discussion is the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme, the strategic plan to create a sustainable transport corridor in mid Cornwall, connecting Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth.

Cllr Linda Taylor, leader of Cornwall Council, said: “This is the final meeting of 2023, and we will be discussing some hugely important items.

“We have been carefully assessing areas where we have identified an inconsistent application of our policies, to ensure we treat residents in an equitable manner. Given the current financial pressures local government faces, we must be so careful with all of our spending and must review all areas where we are over providing to ensure we have resources available to meet our statutory duties.

“However, that cannot limit our ambitions to build a Cornwall fit for the modern world, and the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme offers the opportunity to better connect employment, education and key services through four of our largest towns.

“The scheme has already successfully bid for funding from the Government’s Levelling Up fund, and we will need to ensure it makes financial sense.

“We are also discussing Care at Home provision, an area which affects so many people.

“I look forward to getting together with my cabinet colleagues and continuing our work to make Cornwall a great place to start well, live well and age well for everyone.”

Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting or can watch online via the council’s webcast service.

Watch the Webcast

Published 07 December, 2023

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