In this issue:

• Shared Prosperity Fund community grants
• Listening to You events
• New regulations on separating workplace waste for recycling
• Cornwall National Landscape (AONB): Strengthened Section 85 duty
• National planning changes and Neighbourhood Plans

• Local council planning training on 29 January
• Damp and mould webinar
• Economy Hub
• Coastal and fluvial change mapping tool
• Public Rights of Way update
• New Transport for Cornwall app
• Policy Telegram

Shared Prosperity Fund community grants

Cornwall Council is preparing (subject to contract and approvals) to launch further opportunities for local councils and community organisations to bid for grants from the Community Levelling Up Programme and the Community Capacity Fund.

Calls for new projects to apply for community grants in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly are anticipated to be launched the week commencing 3 February. Town and parish councils and community organisations should sign up to the Good Growth newsletter for the latest information.

Town and parish councils and community organisations will be able to bid for funding under these programmes for the 2025/26 financial year with delivery to be complete by December 2025 and final claims paid by March 2026.

This round of funding is part of the year 4 allocation of the Shared Prosperity Fund for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The Good Growth Programme has made significant and impactful investments in the development, facilitation and delivery of community-led projects across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly during the initial 2022-2025 Shared Prosperity Fund period. Visit the Good Growth website for the full list of projects that have been supported.

Listening to You events

Cllr Linda Taylor, Leader of Cornwall Council, will be visiting more towns during January and February to meet informally with residents.

You are welcome to come along and chat with Linda about local issues, Cornwall Council services and priorities, or anything else that is on your mind if she is visiting your area, or any of the following venues:

• 23 January, 2pm – 4pm: Camborne Deaf Community Centre, 5a East Charles Street, Camborne, TR14 8JF. This event is for d/Deaf people and will have BSL interpreters and live captions on a screen for attendees with hearing loss. Download the Cam
• 18 February, 2pm – 3.30pm: Camborne Holman’s Sports Club, The Lounge, 32 Pendarves Road, Camborne, TR14 7QG
• 19 February, 10am – 11.30am: Newquay’s Mount Wise Centre, 28 Mount Wise, Newquay, TR7 2BJ
• 19 February, 1pm – 2.30pm: Launceston Town Hall, Guildhall Room, Western Road, Launceston, PL15 7AR
• 20 February, 2pm – 3.30pm: St Agnes Hotel, (The Aggie) Churchtown, St Agnes, TR5 0QP

Please share this information on your websites, social media and local resident newsletter and communications, and link to https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/listening-to-you for more information.

New regulations on separating workplace waste for recycling

From 31 March 2025 it will be compulsory for businesses and certain other non-domestic premises to separate their workplace waste and arrange a recycling collection for glass, metal, plastics, cardboard, paper and food waste.

The new guidelines apply to all businesses and organisations, healthcare establishments and academic institutions. Small businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees (excluding volunteers) are temporarily exempt until 31 March 2027. The Government’s aim is to improve recycling rates across England, which will help reduce business waste costs, energy usage and protect the environment.

You need to check the legislation to understand when your local council needs to comply (2025 or 2027). If you haven’t already, you also need to contract a waste collector to provide this full range of services. This can be a private waste collector or your local authority. Cornwall Council can offer a compliant service for businesses.

You must also ensure that the waste company you use is registered on the Public Register of Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers.

For more information, visit:

• Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England – GOV.UK
• Business of recycling – WRAP 
• Commercial Waste Service in Cornwall – Cornwall Council 

Cornwall National Landscape (AONB): Strengthened Section 85 duty

Recent changes to Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 now require all relevant authorities (including parish and town councils) within the Cornwall National Landscape and its setting to actively seek to further the purpose to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the designated landscape. The changes aim to improve outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes.

DEFRA and the National Landscape Association have provided guidance on this new duty, highlighting the importance of the evidence base and policies in the Cornwall National Landscape (AONB) Management Plan in discharging the duty:

• Guidance for relevant authorities on seeking to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes – GOV.UK
• Guidance for Local Planning Authorities on CRoW s.85 duty

For more information, or if you have any questions, email planning@cornwall-aonb.gov.uk.

National planning changes and Neighbourhood Plans

Government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 12 December 2024. This sets out revised guidance and policies for planning across England and is now in force.

A new mandatory standard housing methodology was also published alongside the NPPF. This is the method that we must use to understand how many new homes should be built each year in Cornwall. It means that our new housing requirement (from 12 December) will be 4,421 for Cornwall instead of the 2,707 that we have been planning for under the current Local Plan.

Cornwall Council’s National Planning changes and Neighbourhood Plans briefing note has been written to help Neighbourhood Planning groups to understand what the changes to national planning guidance might mean for their Neighbourhood Plan and how it impacts how the plans will be used.

Local council planning training on 29 January

Join Cornwall Council’s Planning Policy team on Wednesday 29 January, 4.00-5.15pm, for important updates following the planning changes that came into effect in December 2024:

• Update on the revised National Planning Policy Framework and other planning changes
• How Neighbourhood Plans and the Local Plan are impacted by planning changes
• Next steps on the Call for Sites

This will be an online event via Teams. The link to join has been sent to clerks for cascading to all local councillors.

No need to book and places are not limited for each council. If you have any questions about the event, please email positiveplanning@cornwall.gov.uk.

The presentations from this event will be available afterwards on Cornwall Council’s Local Council Planning Training web page.

Damp and mould webinar

Cornwall Council is hosting a free damp and mould webinar on Tuesday 28 January 10-11am to discuss the causes of condensation, damp and mould, the health impacts, actions that should be taken to remove mould and available support. There will also be time for questions. Everyone is welcome to attend – reserve your place via Eventbrite.

There’s more information about dealing with damp and mould in:

• Cornwall Council’s Private Sector Housing advisory leaflet – with simple tips to try to prevent condensation, dampness and mould growth within the home
• The Winter Wellbeing guide – page 32 of the guide particularly focuses on damp and mould and includes some helpful tips

Economy Hub

Cornwall Council’s new online Economy Hub www.economyhub.cornwall.gov.uk is a source of local data for Cornwall and lower geographies within Cornwall, such as Parliamentary constituencies, wards and Community Area Partnerships.

This video shows how to navigate the site and find data for custom geographies: https://youtu.be/YkD26vPVikg.

Coastal and fluvial change mapping tool

Cornwall Council has published a new Heritage at Risk Information Tool to help communities identify heritage at risk of coastal and fluvial change across parishes in Cornwall. The information from the mapping tool can be used to support decisions on managing these risks as part of the wider community climate adaptation planning in Cornwall.

Climate change is already having an impact on the condition of critical infrastructure such as sea defences and bridges and other heritage assets like homes, businesses, libraries, schools, places of worship, historic parks and gardens, stone circles and engine houses and the diverse landscapes of Cornwall from moorland to lowland heath.

Risk to heritage assets can be gradual, going unnoticed until too late for effective action to be taken, or it can be catastrophic following a major event. Cornwall Council’s Strategic Historic Environment team will be encouraging and supporting parishes to start the process of consulting with their communities to create heritage adaptation plans. These dynamic plans will enable communities to plan for scenarios and engage all within their community in the process.

If your local council would like to talk to Cornwall Council’s Strategic Historic Environment team about the new mapping tool and how your community can start to use it, email she@cornwall.gov.uk.

Public Rights of Way update

There’s a new email address for enquiries to Cornwall Council’s Public Rights of Way team (formerly the Countryside Access team): PROW@cornwall.gov.uk

This can be used for all enquiries about:

• Public Rights of Way
• Obstructions
• Public Path Orders
• Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMO)
• Commons or village greens

New Transport for Cornwall app

The new Transport for Cornwall app is designed to make it easier for people to plan journeys, buy tickets and track services across different routes and operators across Cornwall.

It includes:

• Mobile tickets – Buy tickets securely with a debit or credit card and use a mobile ticket when boarding
• Bus service updates – Track buses in real-time and keep up to date with service changes directly inside the app
• Journey planning – With over 11,000 locations to search for
• Timetables – For all routes and times
• Live departures – Browse and view bus stops on the map, and explore upcoming departures
• Favourites – Save regular Departure Boards and Journeys

For more information and to download the app, visit www.transportforcornwall.co.uk/app

Policy Telegram

The latest issue of Policy Telegram is available on the Let’s Talk Cornwall website. Produced by Cornwall Council’s Strategy and Business Planning team, Policy Telegram is a weekly summary of key Government policy developments and notable research releases most critical for Cornwall. It also includes an overview of Government and Council open consultations and consultation results.