Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board - 16 January 2026

The meeting began with a briefing on geothermal energy, highlighting Eden’s facilities that heat the meeting room and a nearby horticultural nursery. Representatives from Eden described geothermal as a model for Cornwall’s future technology use, and the Strategic Director for Sustainable Growth & Place emphasized the county’s leading role in renewable energy, the potential for economic growth and job creation, and the alignment with the UK’s wider energy needs. The Board reiterated that geothermal is a core element of the Local Area Energy Plan, which targets roughly 200 MW of geothermal power and cites advantages such as a low environmental footprint, baseload reliability, and cost competitiveness with small modular nuclear reactors. Technical updates noted recent advances in drilling speed and equipment, especially from the US FORGE programme, which have lowered costs and improved commercial viability. Existing projects, including Eden’s heat system and the United Downs power project, were presented as evidence of regional leadership and the economic and skills benefits already realised.

A series of actions were assigned to Minister Dan Jarvis, Cornwall Council and the Isles of Scilly, and the Leadership Board. The Minister will raise concerns with the Met Office about weather‑warning timing and intelligence delays, discuss Bellwin Scheme thresholds and infrastructure resilience with government colleagues, and provide feedback once responses are received. Cornwall Council and the Isles of Scilly are to share a full “lessons learned” report, review the Local Resilience Forum’s performance during Storm Goretti, assess secondary storm damage, consider an extended Bellwin eligibility timeline, and press infrastructure partners for improved emergency recovery plans. The Leadership Board will place digital inclusion on the agenda for its next meeting and develop a system‑wide digital resilience plan, while officers are tasked with preparing a digital inclusion strategic paper and reviewing the resilience of digital telephone systems.

Additional procedural actions were agreed: the Terms of Reference will be updated to correctly reference Alison Hernandez as Police and Crime Commissioner; the partnership landscape will be reviewed following the Council’s Peer Challenge feedback before adding further sector representatives; the Executive Group and officers will examine wording that embeds the Cornwall Plan 2050 in the Terms of Reference; and the Local Neighbourhood Plan’s terms will be revised to reflect the new delivery partnership structure.

The meeting also addressed the Good Food Cycle, a framework that integrates food policy across all six aims of the Cornwall Plan. The Public Health Practitioner reported that the Executive Group had unanimously adopted the Good Food Cycle in December, nominating food‑system leads and positioning the framework as Cornwall’s emerging food strategy. Matthew Thomson’s presentation explained how the Cycle links food to energy, education, housing, economic development and resilience, and highlighted recent recognition—a national silver award—for Cornwall’s place‑based food work. The Board endorsed the Good Food Cycle, agreed to embed its principles in upcoming planning documents such as the Cornwall Local Plan, and identified next steps including the creation of a dynamic food‑system map with university partners to improve data, identify risks, and support multilayered governance across farming, business and nature groups. No declarations of interest were recorded.