Sustainable Growth and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 3 March 2026

The Sustainable Growth and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee opened the meeting with a minute’s silence in memory of Councillor Kevin Towell and confirmed that the minutes of the 13 January 2026 meeting were correctly recorded and signed. No declarations of interest were made.

Transport matters dominated the agenda. A community representative raised concerns that the relocation of the Mousehole harbour bus stop had left many elderly and disabled residents unable to access Service 6. The Chairman and the Cabinet Member for Transport explained that the route is now operated commercially by Go Cornwall, and that reinstating the harbour stop would require additional vehicles and a frequency increase costing roughly £220 000 ‑ a level deemed financially unsustainable. The Committee was advised that the issue should be taken to the local divisional councillor and the Cabinet Member for Transport, who said the operator would continue to review the service’s commercial viability. The Transport Member also presented the updated Road Safety Strategy, outlining a shift to the Safe System approach, new targets for reducing deaths and serious injuries, and a series of engineering and partnership initiatives. The strategy was welcomed, and the Committee agreed to monitor progress through annual reviews and published indicators.

Environmental and tourism questions were addressed by the relevant cabinet members. The member for Economic, Regeneration and Investment noted that he had not inspected the septic tanks on County Farms and directed any tenant concerns to the Farms Team, while flagging a possible link to broader waste‑disposal issues under the remit of the Environment and Climate Change portfolio. The member for Tourism, Localism and Planning confirmed that Cornwall’s reputation for water quality remains a priority, with a multi‑agency effort involving the Environment Agency and South West Water to meet Clean Rivers and Seas objectives and to support a new bathing‑water designation for Lostwithiel. She also affirmed continued Council support for the Visit Cornwall website, with a working group overseeing content and technical upgrades, and outlined the status of the Cultural Strategy and the Local Visitor Economy Partnership, noting that short‑term SPF funding is sustaining the partnership pending a longer‑term, sector‑led arrangement.

The final agenda item dealt with a review of the County’s parking regime. The Strategic Parking Manager presented a draft parking order that incorporates savings of just under £1.2 million identified in 2024, together with additional opportunities of about £1.6 million for 2026/27. Proposed changes include a 3.7 % tariff increase, the re‑introduction of free evening parking at two Truro sites, reinstatement of a toilet levy at selected car parks, removal of the two‑to‑three‑hour tariff in long‑stay facilities, site‑specific reclassifications, motorhome charges and prohibitions, and a reduction to the JustPark minimum spend. Consultation feedback from town and parish councils and the public was largely negative, and the manager confirmed that several amendments were made in response to that input. The Committee recorded the proposals and indicated that they will be taken forward for final approval after the statutory consultation period concludes.