Information on NHS Kernow's December 2019 Governing Body meeting.

Information on NHS Kernow's November 2019 Governing Body meeting.

Information on NHS Kernow's September 2019 Governing Body meeting.

Information on NHS Kernow's August 2019 Governing Body meeting.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will be holding its first community of practice event supporting the changes to emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people.

Cornwall Council is supporting calls from a cross party group of influential MPs to address the crisis in funding for children’s services. 

According to a new report from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Children’s Services have reached crisis point and need at least £3.1bn in additional funding over the next five years.

Cornwall Council’s Deputy Leader, Julian German, welcomes the report and said: “Reports like this show that some ministers are starting to listen to us about the growing shortfall in funding for Children’s Services.  We will continue to campaign for the government to not only increase funding to meet growing need but reform the way money is allocated to areas.  Cornwall has some of the lowest funded Children’s Services in the country.

“Funding from central government does not reflect levels of need.  It’s based on an historical and outdated funding formula that disadvantages children in Cornwall.”

Data from Eurostat shows that Cornwall is the second most deprived area in northern Europe, yet it receives less funding per child than over 100 other local authorities from across England and Wales.  As the increases are based on percentages that gap increases.

In the committees report,’ Funding of Local Authority Children’s Services’, the group also calls for the government to commit in advance of the Spending Review to continuing the Troubled Families programme beyond 2020.

The MPs said that the government should consider a central investment fund for children’s services as a whole, rather than assigning pots of funding for specific areas.

They recommend that the Competition & Markets Authority should investigate the rising costs of independent children’s care placements and profit levels.  They also recommend that the government should consider central investment to increase the supply of places to meet the growing demand.

Cabinet Member for Children and Wellbeing, Sally Hawken, said: “The government needs to accept the growing need for Children’s Services and match that growing need with increased funding.  It also needs to act to stop the gross inequality in the way Children’s Services are funded.  A child in need in Cornwall has as much right to well-funded services as a child living in all those other better funded areas.

“We have taken all possible steps to make the best use of our funding by creating an integrated Children’s Service but we are on the red line. The Government needs to prioritise children and young people and provide appropriate levels of funding based on deprivation and need.”

The Committee follows a long line of organisations, including the Local Government Association, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a wide range of children’s charities and the Association of Directors for Children's Services, in raising the alarm over shortfalls in funding levels.

Councillor German concluded: “We will continue to put pressure on the government to reassess the national funding formulas, for our schools and children’s social care.  The children of Cornwall deserve a better deal.”

  

Communities in Cornwall are benefiting from 40 hectares of improved green spaces created under a pioneering scheme to bring nature-rich habitats to urban areas.

As spring has officially started this week, Cornwall Council is nearing completion of its Green Infrastructure for Growth - Making Space for Nature programme.

The three-year scheme has brought 30 wildlife and pollinator-friendly areas to seven Cornish towns across an area equivalent to 40 rugby pitches.

Now residents are being invited to take part in activities in these enriched green spaces and get involved in further improvements.

The following sites have been completed under the scheme which is part of the Council’s Environmental Growth strategy: 

• Penzance; Bolitho Gardens, Milllennium Woods, Love Lane Wildlife Garden, Mennaye Boating Lake and Mann's Field
• Hayle; Copperhouse Pool Margins, Treveglos Meadow and Millpond Gardens 
• Camborne; Tuckingmill Valley Park, Wheal Harriet (Elim Centre) and Park an Tansys open space.
• Pool; East Pool Park, Treloweth Park and Crembling Well. New trees have also been planted on Tolvaddon Road.
• Redruth; Treskerby Playing Field, Trenoweth Playing Field, Knights Way Field and St Day Road Cemetery.
• Bude; Goldsworthy Field, Berries Avenue and Kings Hill Wood 
• Saltash; Warfelton Field, Grenfell Estate, Saltmill Park and Longstone Park

Work continues in Penzance and Camborne.

By the end of this year £3.5m will have been spent on public open spaces, roadside verges and closed cemeteries and churchyards. The project is receiving £2.8m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. 

The next Making Space for Nature event is a community wildflower planting day in Penzance on Saturday 30 March.

From 10am to midday residents can help plant pot-grown wildflowers at Mennaye Boating Lake and Mann’s Field in Wherrytown. There will also be an afternoon session in St Mary’s Churchyard between 2pm and 4pm.

Sue James, Cornwall Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for the environment and public protection, said: “The Making Space for Nature project has helped transform plots of land in towns across Cornwall to make them better places for people and for wildlife.

“As spring starts we are inviting residents to come out and see these beautiful new green spaces and get involved in planting activities or just enjoy being in nature.”

Future Making Space for Nature activities include community days at:

• Trenoweth Playing Field, Redruth, April 9

• Warfelton Field, Saltash, April 13

• Love Lane Wildlife Garden, Penzance, April 17
• Berries Avenue, Bude, May 23
• Royal Cornwall Show, Wadebridge, June 6 to 8
• Goldsworthy Field, Bude, June 15
• Treveglos Meadow, Hayle, June 21
• St Day Road Cemetery, Redruth, June 22
• St Mary’s Churchyard, Penzance, July 3
• Golowan Festival, Penzance, June 29

Find more information about the Making Space for Nature project.

Making Space for Nature is a practical example of Cornwall Council’s Pollinator Action Plan which is being launched later this spring.

It aims to make the Council’s assets and operations more pollinator friendly by increasing awareness of pollinators and their needs, identify and support local ideas for pollinator opportunities, help ensure pollinator habitats and species recover and provide beneficial services to farming and tourism and residents across Cornwall.

European Regional Development Fund

The project is receiving up to £2.8 million of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.  The Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the Managing Authority for ERDF. Established by the European Union ERDF funds help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/england-2014-to-2020-european-structural-and-investment-funds

Polperro Primary School has been crowned the first SUGAR SMART primary in Cornwall.  The initiative, which is promoted by the Healthy Schools team at Cornwall Council, encourages teachers, staff and the children into making small steps to reduce the amount of sugar in their snacks, drinks and to work towards a healthier lifestyle.

Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver launched the SUGAR SMART initiative to try and cut down on the amount of sugar being consumed by children across the UK and just last month Richard Lander in Truro was recognised as the first secondary school to receive the status.

Portfolio Holder for Children and Wellbeing and Cabinet Member at Cornwall Council, Sally Hawken, said: “Polperro Primary has shown a real passion for developing a healthier school and they should be proud of their hard work.  Looking at lunch boxes and the foods provided in school is easy to do, but it does take a commitment from the whole school, including parents and governors.

“I would like Polperro to inspire other schools to take on this challenge and to become SUGAR SMART.”

The Healthy Schools team have created a five-step guide to being SUGAR SMART and tips include; changing the contents of vending machines, charging less for healthy snacks and promoting healthier lunches.

Healthy Schools Advisor, Harriet Kretowicz, said: “In order for a school to achieve SUGAR SMART status we are looking to promote healthy lunches and snacks.  They also need to promote drinking water above all other drinks, so no fizzy drinks or high sugar squash.

“We are also looking for that whole school approach, where they engage not only the children, but staff and the wider community and that is something Polperro have been really good at.” 

Scientists say that no more than 5% of our total energy intake should come from sugar. This means different amounts of sugar for different age groups:

• For children aged 4 to 6 years old the maximum amount of added sugar per day is 5 sugar cubes or 19g.
• For children aged 7 to 10 years old the maximum amount of added sugar per day is 6 sugar cubes or 24g.

Teacher at Polperro, Jane Wills, said: “It has been a lot of hard work, but it has also been something we really wanted to do as a whole school, so we’ve all bought into the idea of making sure children that attend Polperro School are able to live a healthier and happier life.  If we can help with that in any small way at all, then that has been the key purpose for us.”

Jane added they’ve noticed other benefits from becoming sugar smart: “The children have certainly become calmer and we’ve seen more focus and lot better levels of concentration.  Also throughout the lesson, if you feel as though there is a dip in their concentration you get everyone up and active, just to burn a little more energy and wake us all up.”

For more information on becoming SUGAR SMART teachers are being encouraged to visit the Healthy Schools Cornwall website

 

Story posted 15 April 2019 

Construction work for a new café in St Austell's Poltair Park is nearing completion.

Cormac Solutions Limited is providing services to the new building when it is installed.

Current installation work is for a new water supply pipe, electrical supply cables, telephone cables, foul sewerage, drainage for rainwater and foundations for the building itself.

Work will be completed by the start of summer and is funded by the developer of a housing development in Trevarthian Road under a Section 106 agreement. In the meantime the park's play areas and skate park remain open.

Poltair Park was transferred to St Austell Town Council in 2017 as part of Cornwall Council’s ongoing devolution programme.

The Town Council maintains and manages the park but Cornwall Council has been supporting a park improvement project.

The community was consulted about what they would like to see and a decision was taken to provide public toilets in the park.

As a result Cornwall Council drafted a feasibility study, supported by the Town Council, which includes plans to provide a kiosk style café that would have toilet facilities and would be leased out to an independent catering contractor to run.

Jackie Bull, Cornwall councillor for St Austell Poltair, said: “This café will make a real difference to the park and will address the concerns of the local community through the provision of toilets. It has been a complicated project and I’m delighted it is finally being done.”

Cormac project manager, Richard Keast, said: “We’re now reinstating the sections of footpath that have been dug up as part of this work, and will be opening sections of the park up again when it’s safe to do so. The next stage will be creating foundations so we can install the café itself, an innovative modular building that we’re manufacturing off-site. As works are completed we’ll refurbish and replant to make sure the park can continue to be enjoyed as soon as possible.”

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, said: “I’m delighted that residents of St Austell will be benefitting from this new café at Poltair Park which comes as a result of communities being able to make decisions about how and who delivers their services.

“This is a great example of how localism is at the heart of our ambitious drive to ensure that services are delivered in the most effective way to the communities of Cornwall.”

Sue James, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for the environment and public protection, said: "It is great that a partnership between Cornwall Council and the local St Austell Council is enhancing this space for local residents. I hope as people enjoy their improved space they will think creatively about making an enhanced space for nature too."

A new mobile library is set to support thousands of Cornish school children with their reading attainment and love of books.

Cornwall Council’s Education Library Service launched its new mobile library stocked with more than 7,000 children’s books at Mount Hawke Academy this week.

A group of Year 5 pupils became the first children in Cornwall to step into the multi-coloured, specially-decorated library van to choose new titles for their school library.

The service is now ready to visit more than 70 primary schools once a term so pupils aged five to 11 can choose and exchange their favourite books.

The Education Library Service (ELS) contributes to children's reading development by providing resources and expertise to primary schools across Cornwall who have subscribed to the service.

It currently supports 30,000 pupils by providing a regular source of newly published, evaluated and discounted books to develop reading and learning and support and enhance schools’ learning objectives.

Experienced library staff are on hand to give advice and practical support saving school staff time and delivering value for money.

The ELS offers a once-termly mobile library visit to schools who have signed up specifically for the service.

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, said: “We believe every child in Cornwall should leave school with a love of books and the ability to read well so they have the greatest opportunities to succeed throughout their lives.

“Our role in achieving this is to offer primary schools in Cornwall a service that brings reading to life and supports educational attainment.

“This new, state-of-the art mobile library will dramatically improve the service we provide and we hope that many more schools and their pupils will engage with our books every single week.”

Catherine Biddick, head of Mount Hawke Academy, said: “We’re just delighted to have been chosen as the school for the new Education Library Service van to be launched at.

“We have a long history with the Education Library Service and this new mobile library means we can choose lots of new books to refresh our library regularly and children who don’t have the opportunity to go into a library can come into the van and see what a library is like.”

Schools can find out more about Cornwall Council’s Education Library Service, including how to subscribe, by contacting 01872 323456 or els@cornwall.gov.uk

Penzance is to get a dedicated anti-social behaviour caseworker for the first time as part of Cornwall Council and Penzance Town Council’s ongoing bid to tackle problems in the town.

At a meeting this week (February 11) town councillors agreed to jointly fund the 12-month pilot with Cornwall Council who will manage the case worker.

The case worker will be responsible for tackling persistent anti-social behaviour offenders in West Penwith and be based at the new Safer Penzance town centre hub set to open in Causeway Head in the spring.

Currently the town is covered by an anti-social behaviour case worker whose geographical area spans from Land’s End to Camborne but this new post will be focused solely on West Penwith.

The dedicated caseworker will focus on gathering evidence and building cases to take to court for enforcement orders such as the Criminal Behaviour Order which prohibits offenders from anti-social behaviour.

The caseworker will also carry out additional patrols in the town centre and deliver more early intervention and prevention work enabling them to refer offenders to local support services.

Latest reports from the Safer Cornwall partnership - made up of Cornwall Council, Devon and Cornwall Police and other partners - show that 1,046 anti-social behaviour incidents in Penzance and its immediate surroundings were reported to the police over the last 12 months.

Compared with other large, Cornish towns, Penzance has the highest rate of reported anti-social behaviour at 53.4 incidents per 1,000 population, compared with an average of 33.7 across the other large towns, and 22.3 for Cornwall overall.

Cornwall Council has welcomed the plan for new anti-social behaviour case worker who is due to be appointed within two months.

Sue James, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for the environment and public protection, said: “We have already found with our team of anti-social behaviour case workers in towns across Cornwall that they play a key role in preventing and tackling anti-social behaviour.

“Having a dedicated case worker focused solely on Penzance will be instrumental in reducing the town’s anti-social behaviour and will help to improve the quality of life for everyone.”

Between September and November 2018 Devon and Cornwall Police’s Neighbourhood Team in Penzance conducted 87 high-visibility patrols days and made seven arrests for public order offences.

Safer Penzance continues to encourage people to report all incidents and concerns as they occur as it gives the police the opportunity to respond and deal with the incidents.

In addition these reports are used as evidence to support action and prosecution against those causing ASB problems in the town.

To report street drinking and ASB please ensure that all incidents are reported to, and logged with, the police by calling 101 (non-emergency) or emailing 101@dc.police.uk or ring 999 if you have serious immediate concerns.

Posted on 14 February

 

One billion trips are made on the school run every year across the UK, pumping an estimated two million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. That’s why one group of children in Bodmin is declaring the road outside their school a car free zone later this month.

The children at Berrycoombe School and the Happy Days Nursery, working in partnership with Cornwall Council and Sustrans, will be reclaiming the street outside their school, opening a park and stride and taking part in street games to mark Clean Air Day (June 20th).  This special traffic-free event will be the first of its kind in Cornwall, piloting work that national charity Sustrans has trialled successfully in other parts of the country.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Rob Nolan, said: “We are urging parents and carers to not drive on Berrycoombe Vale for the school run, instead encouraging them to walk, scoot or cycle to school. Statistics show a huge amount of our journeys are less than two miles, and there is a lot we can do in our own lives to walk and cycle more, which will in turn reduce our carbon footprint.

“But we know what this is not possible for everyone, so where car use is essential, we are asking people to use Scarletts Well Road car park as a ‘park and stride’ facility, just a few minutes’ walk from the school.”

The children at Berrycoombe will make the most of the car free zone outside of their school and will take part in traditional games like hopscotch, produce chalk art on the road and be able to have their bike and scooter checked by experts from the charity Sustrans.

Cllr Nolan continued: “We know that car exhaust fumes are a major contributor to air pollution and it’s great to see schools like Berrycoombe taking the initiative and working with Sustrans to improve the quality of the air the pupils are breathing. Changes like this can make a big difference to the quality of our air and to our children’s health.”

During Clean Air Day, between 8am and 9.30am and 2pm and 4.30pm, residents will still have access to the area and any drivers will be marshalled at walking pace once the road has been cleared. 

Bodmin is one of Cornwall Council’s eight Air Quality Management Areas where the authority is taking action to improve air quality. Monitoring by the Council shows nitrogen dioxide is sometimes higher than average in the Bodmin area with exhaust fumes from cars and lorries being the biggest source of nitrogen dioxide.

James Cleeton, Sustrans Director for England South, said: “The evidence on air pollution and the risk it poses to the public’s health is clear, so we must take action.

“It is great to be working with Berrycoombe School and Cornwall Council on this initiative, which will help to raise awareness and tackle the issue of poor air quality.

“We hope that everyone who participates will continue to make choices that help reduce air pollution. Enabling people to make walking and cycling a normal part of their day will play a huge role in improving air quality, particularly around our schools, and will protect future generations for years to come.

“To help clean up our air, the UK Government needs to show leadership by helping local authorities fund and deliver better cycling and walking infrastructure, so that every child is able to travel on foot or by bike to school in safety and with confidence.”

It’s predicted that up to 36,000 deaths each year in the UK are caused by air pollution.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) sets maximum limits for how air pollution that shouldn't be passed. These limits look at daily and annual averages. Almost 2,000 locations in the UK are above these limits and there are places in the UK where the air pollution is three times as high as the WHO limits.

Elsewhere, visitors to Truro can use the Park and Ride for free on Clean Air Day (Thursday 20th of June).  The Cornwall Council owned service is providing free transport to help reduce the number of car journeys into the city.

Councillor Rob Nolan concluded: “Air pollution concentrates around the areas where it is formed; so places that have lots of traffic can have higher levels of pollution.  We hope that by opening up the Park and Ride for the day will reduce the number of car journeys into the city centre and encourage to people to park out of town.”

For more information on Clean Air Day visit: https://www.cleanairday.org.uk

We want to hear the views of Bodmin residents on the design and layout plans for the next phase of the Council’s Contemporary Cornish Living home building programme.

We’re holding a drop in event at the Council offices at Chy Trevail, Bodmin on Wednesday 26 June from 4pm to 8pm.  Local residents can see the plans for phase 2 of the homes due to be built on the site of the former St Lawrence’s Hospital and give us feedback to inform the finalisation of the plans before we apply for final planning permission.

The Council is committed to providing good quality homes for local people and its Contemporary Cornish Living scheme will provide attractive, high quality homes that people can afford in areas of high demand.  The new homes will have energy saving features which will reduce the cost of heating in the colder months and contribute to a reduction in the carbon footprint of the development.

The two Contemporary Cornish Living pilot sites – in Tolvaddon and on the first development site in Bodmin – are nearing completion and will between them see the delivery of 113 homes. Both those sites and this new one in Bodmin which will deliver 100 new homes, with 40 of those being affordable,  will have properties to rent or to buy.  They will provide a mixture of one, two and three bedroom homes with some for affordable rent or affordable sale and others for open market sale or market rent.

Previous community consultation events invited local residents to comment on the size and style of the homes to be built. The feedback from these events has shaped those developments and the new Bodmin Phase II homes that will be built on the remainder of the St Lawrence site.

Jacquie Gammon, Cornwall Councillor for Bodmin St Mary's said:  “As the division member for Bodmin, St Mary’s, I welcome this next phase of homes. Bodmin is an area with pockets of real deprivation, and this development will provide an opportunity to build homes that local residents will be able to afford to live in. It is my hope that the new builds will allow local people to both rent or buy these excellent properties which will also allow many of them to remain in the area they have been brought up so they can live near to loved ones. “ 

Andrew Mitchell, Cornwall Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for homes said: “We’re committed to delivering developments that reflect the needs of the local community.  Cornwall needs more good quality homes, both to rent and to buy, and the market alone can’t meet this demand.  Schemes such as this one in Bodmin sees the Council directly invest in and build attractive, high quality homes that people can afford in areas of high demand.  This is about providing good quality healthy homes that local people want to live in, with space, gardens, parking and which are well designed with low energy costs.”

The Contemporary Cornish Living scheme is being rolled out to other sites across Cornwall. 

More information about the Bodmin Phase II project, this event is on the  Contemporary Cornish Living page.

 

Story posted 24 June 2019 

Cornwall Pride hold word's first bus tour for LGBTQ+ rights  Falmouth Packet

The brightest rainbow imaginable shone over Falmouth, Helston and West Cornwall yesterday when Cornwall Pride staged the world's first ever Pride…

Footbatj almoxt inaccessible due to not being maintained

Nearest road to the pin placed on the map (automatically generated by Bing Maps): 4 Battery Mill Lane, St. Erth
Report on FixMyStreet

Truro Magistrates' Court - the flasher and other criminals sentenced this week  Cornwall Live

One familiar face to the Cornish courts was given a prison sentence.

Truro Magistrates' Court - the flasher and other criminals sentenced this week  Cornwall Live

One familiar face to the Cornish courts was given a prison sentence.

Truro Magistrates' Court - the flasher and other criminals sentenced this week  Cornwall Live

One familiar face to the Cornish courts was given a prison sentence.

Exclusive: read John Betjeman's unpublished poem for Isambard Kingdom Brunel  Telegraph.co.uk

In 1966, the BBC broadcast a life of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with a script by the future poet laureate John Betjeman. It is published here for the very ...

Exclusive: read John Betjeman's unpublished poem for Isambard Kingdom Brunel  Telegraph.co.uk

In 1966, the BBC broadcast a life of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with a script by the future poet laureate John Betjeman.