A Cornwall Council meeting has been told there will be no High Court inquiry over concerns about “explosive” hazardous materials being stored at Cornwall Airport Newquay.

The comments came after council officers and councillors were bombarded with emails from a worried member of the public about plans to store up to 450 tonnes of hazardous aerosols at the site.

A planning application from Holt Lloyd International Ltd was validated by Cornwall Council on June 13 for ‘Hazardous Substance Consent’ for the storage and warehousing of aerosol car care products at the Hangar 404 Aerohub at Newquay airport.

A decision has yet to be made.

A planning statement says: “The principal activity at the location is the warehouse storage and distribution of the Holt Lloyd International Ltd car care products at the Newquay Airport Aerohub Distribution Centre. Some of the products are classified as hazardous within UK legislation.

“Finished goods are received in retail packaging on pallets for onward distribution in the UK customer supply chain or exported.

The vast majority of Holts products at the Newquay Aerohub warehouse are non-hazardous. The majority of flammable aerosol P3a products are stored in racking in an oxygen-reduced storage room located within the warehouse building.”

An average of 600 pallets of aerosols are delivered to and from the site each week on HGV trailers.

Hangar 404 is located on the south west side of the airport within the Newquay Aerohub development with light industrial units and businesses nearby. The airport terminal and buildings are about 1,100 metres north of the warehouse across the runway.

A report by the applicant adds: “We have not identified any buildings containing vulnerable populations within 500m (schools or hospitals) and there are no significant recreational areas within 500m such as public parks.

A risk assessment of the vapour cloud explosion risk at the aerosol warehouse was completed following the guidance and method within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This assessment demonstrated the required number of warehouse controls and barriers for vapour cloud explosion risk prevention were met.”

A vapour cloud explosion occurs when a sufficient amount of flammable or combustible material is released, mixes with air, and is ignited.

A letter from Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service to the council’s planning department states: “It has been noted that the applicant has commenced the process of obtaining permission for a significant increase of storage of hazardous products.

The Fire Authority request further notifications of any permissions once granted, to ensure we are aware of the significant increase in risk.”

The Health and Safety Executive assessed the risks to the surrounding area if the Hazardous Substances Consent application is granted.

Its report says: “HSE has concluded that the risks to the surrounding population arising from the proposed operation are so small that there are no significant reasons, on safety grounds, for refusing Hazardous Substances Consent.”

There is one public comment against the application on the council’s online planning register, from Captain Peter Elliott, who has emailed Cornwall councillors and officers with his concerns.

His correspondence states there are “450 tonnes of unlawfully stored explosive aerosols in Hangar 404 and there is still no insurance and business aircraft crew and occupants are still being endangered”.

He states in emails to councillors: “Could you consider please, in the interests of public safety and to stop the cover-ups, to inform Cornwall Council, today, that you seek within the next 14 days an Extraordinary Special Meeting of your committee to resolve that a High Court judge-led inquiry be immediately convened.”

As a result of his emails, Cllr Stephen Barnes (Labour, Redruth North) asked at a meeting of the council’s customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee today (Tuesday, October 17) that a High Court-led inquiry is held into the matter.

He said: “I’d like to move in light of the alleged endangerment and no insurance issues at Newquay Airport, and that nothing has come to the scrutiny committee since July 7, in light of new evidence developments this week and public interest to protect innocent human life, we now ask for a High Court-led inquiry to be conducted in liaison with the chairman of the audit committee to oversee.”

Cllr Stephen Rushworth (Conservative, Padstow) responded: “I’ve got no objection to an independent review – I think it would put everything to bed and we wouldn’t get loads of emails or councillors pestering us. I presume that the council’s got nothing to hide, so in that case the ruling would go in favour of the council. My one concern is cost. What would that cost possibly be and would it be greater than the complainant went to judicial review?”

Committee chairman John Keeling (Conservative, Porthleven, Breage & Germoe) was quick to jump in. “I’m really not happy with this business,” he countered.

“We really are not in a position to talk about that. It’s not on the agenda.”

He asked for the council’s lead solicitor Henry Gordon-Lennox to give an overview, stressing again the matter wasn’t on the agenda. “Well, it is because I added it in,” replied Cllr Barnes.

Mr Gordon-Lennox said the matter being raised was a tenuous link to emails members have recently been receiving from “a certain individual”.

“I think to immediately move to the suggestion of an independent inquiry would be completely over the top, in my advice,” he said. “There’s no risk of a judicial review as there’s no decision being taken that affects this individual, so I can’t quite see what he would be reviewing. If this committee felt it wanted reassurance I’m aware that Cllr Worth, from the economic growth and development scrutiny committee, is already looking at this from a referral from audit. I think the remit is more in Cllr Worth’s area than this committee and he is very much alive to this issue. I think if this committee wants to make a recommendation to Cllr Worth than that would be appropriate.”

Cllr Martin Worth (Conservative, Saltash Trematon & Landrake) replied that his scrutiny committee would be performing a strategic airport review at its next meeting in November. “In my opinion that’s the place and time for this discussion,” he said.

The chairman agreed and decided to move on with the rest of the meeting.

However, an hour into the meeting Cllr Barnes repeated his request for a High Court inquiry. A visibly peeved Mr Gordon-Lennox responded:

“This is an individual who is raising concerns – there is no evidence that has been put forward to substantiate anything that he is saying.

Audit have already made a recommendation to a scrutiny committee to consider this matter. I’m quite content that the insurance issue is with EGD now to look at.

“It is not appropriate, in my view, for this committee to make a recommendation about High Court judge-led inquiries when there is work in progress with a scrutiny committee.

"Taking the word of this man and simply regurgitating it at this committee, I think is inappropriate.”