The Conservative Group on Cornwall Council has demanded answers from the council’s Liberal Democrat/Independent administration as it has come to light that more and more Cornish taxpayer money is being thrown at the controversial Langarth project – with no end in sight.
Documents recently released show that property developers Inox paid only £100,000 for a small parcel of land at Penstraze, to the west of Truro, in 2016. In 2020 Cornwall Council paid £1.45 million for the site without any new planning permissions or changes to its designated land-use.
The deal agreed by Cornwall Council is also subject to a restrictive covenant which could cost County Hall hundreds of thousands of pounds to remove. The covenant limits future land use to residential development but the council needs the site for a road for the Langarth development and is offering to pay a further £360,000 to lift the covenant.
Commenting, Conservative Group Leader Cllr Linda Taylor said:
“It is sadly not surprising to see the continued haemorrhaging of Cornish taxpayer money via the money pit that is the Langarth Project.”
“We warned this Lib Dem and Independent Administration that if they continued their foolhardy plans to turn Cornwall Council into a property developer for open market housing, it would ultimately be the Cornish taxpayer that would suffer.”
“But no, they wouldn’t listen, and we are left with this result, where they are throwing more and more taxpayer money away to satisfy their property developer fantasies.”
“Outside of a select few at County Hall, this development is universally loathed and the Conservative Group, as the responsible opposition at County Hall, will be asking for urgent answers as to how this continued splurging of taxpayer money has been deemed acceptable. How much has already been spent, and how much more are they prepared to throw at this vainglorious proposition.”
“We urge them to stop playing this dangerous game with public money and get the basic things, the waste and recycling contract, supporting businesses through lockdown, and maintaining our road network right, before persisting in this folly.”
