Chairman’s Annual Report for 2025/2026 delivered by Cllr. A. Collins

12 Months ago, I didn’t visualise that I would be here giving a report as Chairman of this Council.

At the last Annual meeting, Cllr. Dave Sharp was re-elected as Chairman – and although at the time he was unsure of what the future would hold, he embraced the role with his usual enthusiasm and dedication.

Unfortunately, by the beginning of August his health had deteriorated, and he found it impossible to carry on in the way his high expectations would allow. At the end of August (2025), Dave passed away leaving a huge loss to the Council and the whole Community in which he had been so involved, and in which he had been held in such high regard.

During this sad time, The Council must, however, try to continue its work, and with support from my fellow Councillors I took up the roll as Chairman, with Councillor Sue Nicholas taking up the roll as Vice Chair.

Dave’s death left the Council with two vacancies on the Perranuthnoe Ward and later in the year with Councillor Kate Trevena standing down, having moved from the Parish, the Council now had three vacancies to fill. At this point I would like to thank Kate for the valuable contribution that she made during her time on the Council.

I am very pleased that later in the year, two new councillors were co-opted, Cllr Jeannette Moyle, and Cllr Martin Tucker, with both to serve on the Perranuthnoe ward. I thank them for embracing the rolls they have taken on, with such enthusiasm.

This Council has funds set aside for many projects and I am glad to say that at last some of these projects should in the near future be coming to fruition. Work on constructing The Perranuthnoe bus shelter should commence in a few weeks, a project which has long been discussed at previous meetings for as long as and preceding my time on the Council. The toilets at Perranuthnoe Car Park are desperately in need of refurbishment and it is good to see that plans to get this done by the end of this year are progressing well.

The Car Park and the way it is run in the future will need serious discussion, but in the meantime I would like to thank Andrea Robinson for the tireless work she puts in, collecting the monies from the donation box and making it ready for banking.

A big issue which seems to rear its head many times is Traffic calming. A pretty comprehensive 20 mph roll out has helped to make people aware of the speed at which they are travelling ,and although many motorists disagree with it, I feel it must act in some way to protect pedestrians from more serious injury. The centre of Goldsithney traffic calming work has taken place, with much of the work completed, although some remains unfinished.

The state of our roads has also been highlighted many times, from pot holes, to the need for complete resurfacing, and also the need to introduce and repaint yellow lines. We know Cornwall Council funds are stretched on this, but we must continue to press these issues with them.

In January we had a visit from storm Goretti, it caused great devastation to our local trees and also impacted our everyday life for a short time. Communities pulled together, offering help and assistance to those who needed it. We must however as a Council ensure that certain practices and action plans are in force, in the event of something similar occurring again. We should lead in setting up an emergency action plan encouraging members of the public and organisations to be involved.

Cornwall Council and Planning decisions. It seems that views and consultations between Parish Councils and Cornwall Council, are now being ignored because of Government policy on housing matters. I fear that the input from local parish Councils will, in the future, become less valid and disregarded, than it has been in the past. I feel we are fighting a loosing battle on this front. I would like to thank Cllrs Pascoe and Nicholas for their input and endeavours in providing a way forward in providing affordable housing within the Parish. This is something that will indeed take time to come to fruition, but it is something that should be high on our list of priorities regarding planning development.

Financially, this Council stands very well to continue to provide projects to enhance our Parish, and help causes that deserve its support, throughout the year. Projects, whether ongoing or for the future should continue to be assessed and updated regularly.

I am pleased to say, this Council is one of the very few that has not increased the contribution made by properties to the Parish Council in regard to Council tax.

Our accounts are becoming more time consuming due to more income and more expenditure, and I would like to thank Helen Dowdall for all the work she does in preparing them and in dealing with any financial matters that occur. You are a great asset.

I thank our Clerk, Gail. since taking on the position, she has had a lot more to deal with, from increased planning applications and appeals to legal matters and correspondence. Banking takings and paying bills. I thank her for doing it so efficiently,(no matter where she is in the world!).

Thank you Cllr. Nicholas my Vice Chair, for all the support and valuable advice you have given me throughout the past 8 months. Thanks also go to our Cornwall Councillor, John Martin, for the support that he gives to our Council throughout the year.

And finally, thank you Councillors for the hard, often thankless work, you all offer in different ways in making this Council run smoothly and efficiently throughout the year.

Cllr. Andrew Collins
Chairman – Perranuthnoe Parish Council