THE Cornwall Council-owned company which runs Spaceport Cornwall has responded to growing concerns about its employment of a Cornwall councillor to the top role of head of future air and space.

A Cornish MP and other councillors have previously questioned how Cllr Louis Gardner got the job while in his role as cabinet member for the economy after 27 other candidates – some with aviation backgrounds – didn’t make the grade.

The job announcement came just days after Cllr Gardner, who was previously a Naval officer, sat on Cornwall’s Economic Prosperity Board (EPB) meeting which agreed to give what is believed to be around £200,000 of Shared Prosperity Funding (SPF) from the government to the Spaceport, while the recruitment process was being carried out. Cllr Gardner now controls the Spaceport’s budget.

He stood down from his cabinet role on accepting the head of future air and space position and will retire as a councillor at the May 1 council elections.

At the EPB meeting, Cllr Gardner did not declare an interest and seconded a motion which approved SPF funding to a range of bodies – though all the financial details have been redacted from the board meeting’s minutes.

Ben Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, said: “Was this clear conflict of interest declared at the time – and were there really no eyebrows raised when Cllr Gardner, days before securing a £70,000 job at the Spaceport, was a key part of the decision-making process to approve its funding?

“I’ll now be escalating this matter to the Commissioner for Public Appointments and engaging directly with Cornwall Council’s monitoring officer to ensure this potentially serious breach of standards is investigated to the fullest extent.”

The council was asked if the matter violated the Localism Act 2011, which states that it is a criminal offence to participate in any discussion or vote on a matter in which you have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

A spokesperson said: “We are unable to add anything to our previous statement on this issue. If a code of conduct complaint was received, we would be unable to comment on the matter.”

We understand the matter has been reported to Devon and Cornwall Police.

Corserv, which is owned by Cornwall Council, employed Cllr Gardner after a failed first round of interviews. They admit the post wasn’t re-advertised and his resubmission was deemed successful the second time around. The company did not respond to a question asking if he was the only person approached.

In a letter to Mr Maguire, MP, Neil Edmond, the CEO of Corserv, which runs Cornwall Airport Ltd, confirmed that Cllr Gardner was appointed to the role at the Spaceport after an earlier round of interviews ended with him not being shortlisted. He said: “Twenty seven candidates applied for this role when it was originally advertised in July 2024. Two other candidates were shortlisted for interview, not including Mr Gardner. This first interview series was ultimately unsuccessful. The role was still open and, following reconsideration, Mr Gardner was interviewed and offered the post.”

However, a later statement from Corserv said Cllr Gardner was part of the initial application process, but was not shortlisted due to his decision to withdraw from the process on the grounds that at that point in time the opportunity with Spaceport was not compatible with his work/personal commitments.

“The recruitment process subsequently was not able to identify a suitable candidate and then entered into a period where the search was paused. When the recruitment process recommenced, Mr Louis Gardner applied and was successful after completing a robust interview/suitability assessment,” added a spokesperson for the company.

The Corserv spokesperson added: “As a conscientious employer, all our recruitment processes are robust and fair, and in-keeping with our legal and moral responsibilities. As are all our roles, this position was advertised in line with the standard practice for the relevant position and industry. When initially a suitable candidate could not be appointed, a further review and re-evaluation of the applicants was conducted, as per standard hiring procedure.

“Following the initial shortlisting process, the re-evaluation of the shortlist confirmed there were no other suitable candidates at that time. Re-advertising was not appropriate at that time due to the recent timescales. Due to changes to Cllr Gardner’s circumstances, he was able to submit his application and, following a robust and thorough process, his application was deemed to fit the criteria to proceed further.”

We asked the company if Cllr Gardner, from Newquay, was the only person who knew that the recruitment process was restarted, and if other previous candidates had also been contacted. Did Corserv come to the decision he was the only suitable candidate and approach him directly to resubmit?

We also asked Corserv if Cllr Gardner was appointed by Sam O’Dwyer, the managing director of Cornwall Airport Newquay. She announced her resignation from the airport at the end of February, just days before Cllr Gardner started in his Spaceport role.

The Corserv spokesperson added: “We are unable to share further details as, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we need to protect the privacy and personal data of all individuals involved in our recruitment process. As previously shared, all our recruitment processes are robust and fair, and in-keeping with our legal and moral responsibilities.”