POLITICALLY, recent weeks have been busy but that hasn’t detracted from the on-going work that myself and my fellow councillors in South East Cornwall have been undertaking.

I myself have been covering my own division (Menheniot, St Cleer and St Neot), while also covering some additional work in my neighbouring division with parish councils in St Ive, Linkinhorne and South Hill.

One particular piece of work that I’ve been involved in has been the Tencreek development on the edge of Liskeard, which technically sits within my division. This application has been around for many years now and I myself first spoke in support of it eight years ago at a strategic planning meeting when I first became a Cornwall councillor.

Planning applications such as this can be tricky because as the divisional member, we’re expected to work with the planning officers and the local parish council to find a solution that works for everyone involved. The truth is, you’ll never please ‘all of the people, all of the time’ but on balance, I think that approving this one was the right decision, especially as it will go on to deliver a decent number of affordable homes as part of the scheme.

I’m also pleased because both the Menheniot Neighbourhood Development Plan and the Liskeard NDP had this site as an allocated development, which does make it easier.

Three weeks ago, myself and a number of other Cornwall Councillors (Nick Craker, Jane Pascoe, John Tivnan and Martin Worth) had the opportunity to take Linda Taylor, leader of Cornwall Council, around the area and highlight some specific issues that needed to be tackled.

Although each councillor has their own specific issues that they highlighted with her, I myself was able to raise issues such as speeding in Merrymeet, a number of planning enforcement issues and of course the on-going need for improvements to the A38 at the Menheniot junction. She has assured me of her support as we continue to try and find solutions.

Lastly, it would be remiss of me to not thank Sheryll Murray for the many years of help and support while she was our MP for South East Cornwall. She campaigned tirelessly for improvements to the A38 and I’m grateful for that as well as the many other things that she has helped me with over the years.

This work must now continue with our new MP Anna Gelderd, who I congratulate on the election win and I look forward to meeting with as soon as possible to discuss the issues at hand.

If anyone wishes to contact me, please use my Cornwall Council email address which is [email protected]

Phil Seeva

Cornwall councillor, Menheniot division