At County Hall on Tuesday, April 17, a packed council chamber heard a long debate about whether the council should provide money to the scheme.
Under the plans the Stadium for Cornwall would be built on a site near Threemilestone and would be a home ground for the Cornish Pirates and Truro City FC as well as providing business and conference facilities and kitchen and hospitality training facilities for Truro and Penwith College.
There is also a health and fitness centre planned for the stadium, which would be operated by GLL, the non-profit company that already runs leisure centres in Cornwall.
The stadium would also be available for a wide range of community use by organisations and sports clubs from all over Cornwall.
At the beginning of the year the stadium partners had gone to Cornwall Council to seek help to raise the last £6-million needed for the £14.3-million project.
The council considered the request but said it would only consider providing £3-million, with the other half of the funding hoped to be provided by central government, fulfilling a commitment made by former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Many councillors spoke in favour of the stadium during the long debate, touching on the benefits to raise aspirations for young people and the health and wellbeing benefits it could bring.
Mebyon Kernow leader Dick Cole said that the project was a ‘no-brainer’ and said it presented an opportunity for Cornwall.
Independent Cllr Tim Dwelly said councillors had a chance to do something positive for Cornwall and asked whether councillors wanted to be in a position when asked in the future what they did and had to answer that they ‘stopped the Stadium for Cornwall happening’.
Cllr John Wood said he could see clear benefits for young people in Cornwall and added: “I would love to see a young person from my area playing on that stadium pitch.”
Lib Dem Cllr Jesse Foot said he thought the stadium could be ‘another jewel in the crown’ for Cornwall. He said: “Yes, it is a risk, but it would be a bigger risk if we don’t support this.”
Newquay’s Cllr John Fitter spoke against the plans saying he could not support the funding request as people he had spoken to in his area were ‘overwhelmingly against’ it. He said: “If we support this it will become a year-on-year drain on resources to this council.”
He added: “We are told to have a vision. I have a vision for Cornwall and a vision for its posterity. I have a vision that is shared by the whole of Cornwall and not just the privileged few.”
Conservative councillor for Tintagel Barry Jordan, said he could not support the stadium describing it as a ‘Stadium for Truro’ and not for Cornwall.
Liberal Democrat councillor for Launceston South Jade Farrington said that while she supported the idea of a stadium she was concerned about the business plan and finances.
She said: “We don’t have all the facts. This is not the way to make a decision about £3-million of public money.”
Independent Jim McKenna highlighted that the council was currently looking to invest £600-million into Cornwall and said that the amount of money being asked for the stadium was just 0.5% of that investment.
Under the council’s agreement the funding will only be provided should the government also provide £3-million to the project. It is also dependent on a full business plan for the project being approved by the council’s chief finance officer and will also be assessed by an independent expert.
Conservative MP Derek Thomas has also revealed that he is due to meet with Secretary of State Matt Hancock to discuss the government’s funding for the stadium.
He said: “It goes back some time to when David Cameron made a commitment and various meetings took place after that with two secretaries of state and ministers, there was no real proposal on the table. We got that proposal in January.
“I met with Matt Hancock and Steve Double attended the meeting when we presented what the proposals and what the government needed to do. I then met with the Chancellor and Sarah Newton and gave the same proposal and out of that we have a meeting on Wednesday with Matt Hancock and also attending will be Nigel Blackler and Martin Tucker from the stadium and council. It is all part of putting together a proposal of £3-million of government money and I have done a lot of ‘toing and froing’ between various MPs and groups in relation to this.”
Councillors voted 69 in favour, 41 against and seven abstentions.
Following the news Cllr Farrington was questioned over her choice to abstain from the vote. One person took to social media to ask: “…I just wondered if you could explain your decision to abstain on the vote on Tuesday regarding the stadium for Cornwall? Obviously tax payers’ money pays your wages and you are there to make decisions. Personally I think that you and the other six who abstained should not be in public office. This isn’t meant to be rude but just sick of councillors without the conviction to make decisions.”
In reply Cllr Farrington said: “…You have every right to ask me why I voted the way I did, but it’s pretty disappointing you’ve chosen to leap to the decision that I’m unfit for public office before waiting for my explanation. I made a speech in the debate explaining my thoughts.
“…I made an active decision to record an abstention based on the evidence before me. I didn’t disappear and fail to register a vote, despite knowing that abstaining would mean receiving the anger from both sides. It would have been easy for me to just vote one way or the other despite not believed in it, but it would have been false and a cop out.”
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