IN August, I assisted a number of community groups and it was nice to attend some events such as the summer fayre at ClayTAWC. I was especially pleased to help mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at Indian Queens Victory Hall. The committee put on a lovely Cornish tea and I did an illustrated talk.

One of the biggest talking points in recent weeks has been Cornish Lithium’s non-statutory consultation for their lithium mining project at Trelavour, St Dennis. I attended three of the events and also went to the liaison group for initial feedback on the responses. In addition, I have attended two public meetings of concerned residents at the working men’s club in the village. Concerns raised include noise, dust and the impact of additional vehicle movements.

The UK government has given Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) status to the proposed scheme, which means that the decision whether or not to sanction the development will be made by a government minister, based on the advice of the Planning Inspectorate – not Cornwall Council. I have made it clear that I will do my utmost to ensure that concerns raised by local people are properly addressed.

I served as the chairman of Cornwall Council’s Cornish National Minority Working Group for the last four years. Established in 2015 following the recognition of the Cornish as a national minority, it has played a leading role in efforts to advance the rights, visibility and cultural/political recognition of the Cornish and Cornwall. It has been renamed as the Cornwall Fifth Nation Working Group to reflect the recent council vote to seek formal recognition of Cornwall as one of the nations of the UK and I can report that I have been re-elected as chairman for the next four years.

If I can be of assistance to anyone, please feel free to get in contact with me: [email protected] or 07791 876607.