A CORNWALL councillor has accused council officers and consultants of mismanaging the Truro Sports Hub project at Langarth, resulting in a delay in its start date.

Cllr Dulcie Tudor, Independent councillor for Langarth, asked council leader Cllr Leigh Frost during a council meeting why the £750,000 sports pitch had been delayed and was unlikely to open in time for the 2026/27 football season.

Cllr Frost signed off a recommendation in November that a grant from the Football Foundation would be used to fund the building of a floodlit all-weather community 3G pitch next to Truro City FC’s ground.

The pitch has been designed to host Threemilestone Football Club, the newly formed Truro City Women team, local youth teams and the surrounding Langarth Garden Village community, when the new town is built.

Initially, Cllr Frost said a contractor would be procured for the pitch construction, and it was hoped the build would start in February and end in time for the the 2026/27 football season in August. Six months on, work has yet to begin.

Following the meeting, Cllr Dulcie Tudor revealed she had received a response to her query, stating the delayed start date “primarily relates to changes in the approach to appointing the pitch operator”.

Cllr Frost explained that following approval of the original business plan, Cornwall Council initially moved away from the proposed single-operator model under which Truro City Football Club would have been appointed, looking instead to pursue an open-tender process instead. This was on the advice of the council’s commercial team, who raised concerns regarding compliance with procurement regulations.

“The Football Foundation, as a key funder, requires confirmation of the operator before allowing construction to commence, and therefore construction could not proceed in parallel with the operator procurement process as originally planned,” said Cllr Frost.

The council has since revisited this position and returned to a single supplier approach. “However, the time taken to review the procurement strategy and align with funder requirements has contributed to the delay in progressing the project on site,” Cllr Frost added. “Current discussions with the Football Foundation have been both supportive and pragmatic and indicate potential for some recovery of programme.”

Cllr Tudor accused council officers and consultants of mismanaging the project. “At best we can say one department didn't communicate with another, something that happens a lot at Cornwall Council,” she said.

“The consequence of their mismanagement meant we almost lost £757,000 of funding from the Football Foundation, and the delay means none of the local teams will be able to play on the pitch until October at the earliest.

“Surprisingly, over this whole saga, it’s been easier engaging with Truro City FC owners and management than it has with council officers and hired consultants, who constantly put barriers in the way of delivering a great facility for local football clubs.”

Cllr Tudor added: “I’ve learnt what I already knew - that the council is good at applying for outside funding, but it’s not good at delivering the projects the funding pays for.”