I CONTINUE to attend as many community events as I can, and it was lovely to run a session for Mevagissey Memory Cafe on local festivities. Our memory cafes are so important, and I am running a session for Sticker Memory Cafe this summer too. Thank you to all the volunteers who run our many brilliant events.

It was lovely to help again with Gorran Haven Regatta on June 1. The gig club ran a brilliant day and over 25 clubs joined us for a great day of racing.

I have agreed a grant from my community chest for Sticker Rally to help with staging and have agreed in principle a grant for Polgooth Village Hall. I have also supported Grampound Band with a grant to buy new hymn books. The band has been resurrected and it is wonderful to see so many people involved. I also chaired a candidates debate at St Austell College and it was lovely to return to the college as an ex-student and see so many young people getting involved with local politics.

I helped with the D-Day commemorations by taking a group to Nare Head and Turnaware Point, as key embarkation points. Relatives of veterans were included in the group, so it was especially poignant to remember and thank them for their sacrifice. I opened St Marks Flower Festival in Sticker and the displays on the theme of Cornish heritage were wonderful. I ran an advice morning at Trewoon Community Hub and it was great to see over 20 residents, with a queue at one point. I am happy to have been made a trustee of the St Ewe Relief Charity and have spread the word to stress we can help any local people in need. I also spoke to Gorran School pupils about local history and the history of Gorran and St Ewe Schools. It was lovely to see so many St Ewe children there and they were very enthusiastic.

I am working with local historian Barry West, who is leading a memorial project on the Quaker Cemetery at Tregongeeves and the life of Loveday Hambly. We will erect a memorial and create a wildflower garden to mark this important historic site. I chair the White River Community Project and we have drawn up plans for nature recovery, flood mitigation and community environmental protection in Pentewan Valley. We are working towards £40,000 of funding and have secured a commitment to provide £20,000 already.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the sunnier weather. It was an incredibly wet winter though. My Dad has lived in our parishes for 83 years and assures me this has been the wettest winter he has ever known. I have reported many flooding issues and potholes and also many requests for hedge cutting. Some have been resolved and other sections we are still pressing for work on. Please do report any highways, drains or floods concerns via www.cornwall.gov.uk/report-something or the emergency telephone line, 03001 234222.

I am here to help on any issue, so please do not hesitate to contact me: email [email protected] or tel 07939 457590.

THE General Election is very much dominating politics at the moment. I have been a candidate for Mebyon Kernow in four of the last five state elections, but not this time. MK repeatedly made it clear that our electoral priorities are the 2025 elections to Cornwall Council and the associated town and parish council polls, which will take place on May 1, 2025. A conscious decision has, therefore, been taken to focus our resources on these upcoming local elections – where we are optimistic of making real progress – rather than a costly General Election.

Obviously, I am conflicted by the decision, but I know it is the right one. And MK members are challenging would-be MPs to confirm their support for meaningful devolution for Cornwall, just as exists in the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom.

Not being on the campaign trail, my council work continues and, in recent weeks, there has been quite a focus on highway issues. This has ranged from reporting numerous potholes to a meeting about faded road markings and other road defects; and making representations about problems caused by the road closures on the A30 linked to the dualling works and other roadworks in the parishes that I represent.

In addition, I have had numerous conversations, both positive and negative, with people about the recent public consultation on the proposed introduction of 20mph speed limits across large areas within the local villages of Clay Country. Like other elected members, I am keen to see the official breakdown of what local residents think and what tweaks may have been requested.

In St Dennis, I am very pleased that the parish council is progressing with the purchase of mobile speed visors, which can be placed on poles at various locations around the village to encourage people to drive safely within speed limits. Also at a recent parish council meeting in the village, there was a wide-ranging discussion about traffic congestion, traffic speed, parking and related matters within the heart of the village, and I have approached Cornwall Council with a request for them to undertake a study into possible solutions. I am continuing to make representations on this.

I am also pleased at the progress with the “direction of travel” document for a Neighbourhood Plan for St Dennis, which I am drafting with the support of a working group of parish councillors. This will soon form the basis of our next consultation.

If I can be of assistance to anyone, please feel free to get in contact with me: [email protected] or 07791 876607.

LIFE has been pretty hectic over the last few weeks, after an election is called everything goes on “hold”. The term Purdah is used which means that lots of political decisions cannot be made during this time.

However, other things are continuing. Treveth have started their public engagement sessions and will be meeting with stakeholders shortly where we will start to look at their outline plans for the site. We are still in the very early stages, but it is important that we get what St Austell needs.

We have recurring issues at the old General Wolfe site, which are constantly been addressed. If you see anything untoward, please do report it via the 101 webchat or online form. As usual, it is important that these issues are reported.

Holy Trinity Cafe have started their Wednesday drop-in sessions for young people – a safe place for them to pop along and have a drink, chat and some delicious food! Keep an eye on their Facebook page or pop along and find out more.

I was delighted to be elected chair of the Economic Growth & Development Scrutiny Committee – this committee have been doing some excellent work over the last few years as we have seen huge investment into Cornwall and many businesses and organisations have benefitted from this investment, especially through the Shared Prosperity Fund. I am honoured to continue the work of the previous chairs for the final year of this current administration.

It is good to see some movement on the Integrated Service Hub going into St Austell Town Centre; internal works will be starting soon. It will be great to finally have that up and running after a long protracted legal process.

Finally, just in case you have forgotten, we have an election looming and it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity of asking you to vote for Steve Double, who has worked tirelessly for this area, bought huge investment with a new road, a new elective surgery hub (Penrice Hospital), new primary schools and a huge investment for a rebuild of the St Austell campus at Cornwall College etc. He wants to continue to build on this work and trusts you will give him the opportunity of doing that.

If there is anything I can do for you, as always, please do get in touch via the usual channels – [email protected] or 01726 829246.

WELL, it has certainly been an interesting past few weeks since I last wrote my column for the Voice.

Most interestingly, the Prime Minister called a General Election for July 4, which at the time of writing (June 20) was still two weeks away. As usual I have been running around all over the place helping Steve Double, who needless to say, (unsure of when exactly this is published!) I did or will be supporting in his efforts to get re-elected. Steve has done a lot of good for our area, particularly in recent years in working with me to support local groups in accessing the Shared Prosperity Fund for millions of pounds for projects for our area, and supporting the fishermen and helping with flooding schemes.

But enough of national politics – the fact that the General Election was called means Cornwall Council has gone into something called Purdah, which means the council’s officers are limited in how they can support councillors (because we are elected members, just like MPs).

This means it has been more difficult than usual to get updates from officers about the various things I have been doing locally, but I can advise that:

I will have a community day of painting play equipment arranged with Mevagissey School and Cormac for Valley Road Park in July.

Cormac fixed the steps at Polstreath following my request and it is now much more accessible than it previously was.

I was pleased to help fund Mevagissey School’s recent trip to London – ironically the centrepiece of that trip was supposed to be going to Parliament and they couldn’t do it because the General Election had been called!

I was also delighted to see the simply astonishing performances by the Mevagissey Male Choir at the Hall for Cornwall for their 50th Anniversary Show, more than ably supported by Alison Harvey, The Press Gang, Mevagissey Quaynotes and the Cornwall Youth Choir, who were a revelation. Extraordinary stuff all round that had me in tears at various times and had several well-deserved standing ovations. Simply put, no-one does it better!

Finally, as of the time of writing I am looking forward to Feast Week, always the highlight of my year, and I am sure it will be another great one for Mevagissey. Thanks to everyone on the committee who work all year round to pull off such an amazing event.

As ever, should you need my assistance with anything, please contact me at [email protected] or on 07885 277670 and I will be happy to help.