Cornwall MP slams councillor over bypass risk comments

A war of words has broken out between one of Cornwall’s Conservative MPs and one of its leading Conservative councillors over plans for the proposed £146m A39 Atlantic Highway Camelford bypass scheme.

Cornwall Council’s Tory cabinet has agreed to back a new amended outline business case for the project, which has trebled in cost since first being mooted in 2021. The 4km long bypass is expected to significantly improve journey times and remove around 80 per cent of through-traffic from Camelford high street.

However, the council’s portfolio holder for economy Cllr Louis Gardner fired a warning shot across the bows earlier this month about the spiralling cost of the road scheme. While supporting the project, the Newquay councillor said he had to highlight that the way the project had grown “almost out of all control really frightens me”.

He added: “To come up with an initial price of £40m and we’re now into £147m and the risk that exposes this council to potentially is absolutely huge; three times the risk we’re exposed to on a major project like the Mid Cornwall Metro – probably larger than any risk this council has ever handled before.

“We as a Cabinet and as a council need to be mindful as this proceeds how we’re monitoring it because it frightens me.”

North Cornwall MP Scott Mann, who has long supported the bypass plan, was not happy with the councillor’s comments. He said: “I have felt that some at County Hall have been opposed to the Camelford scheme, as I believe there is a culture of thinking that prefers to see funding diverted to areas in west and mid-Cornwall.

“With the Camelford scheme, County Hall has baked in over £50m of ‘risk cost’ for the project. This is despite the Government offering to cover 99 per cent of the funding, meaning Cornwall Council’s spend on the project cost is only due to be £2.62m – which accounts for 1.5 per cent.

“Historically, with other schemes they have signed off, they are obligated to fund around 10 to 15 per cent. The Mid-Cornwall Metro initiative, for example, has a Cornwall Council funding commitment of 12 per cent. If Cllr Gardner is feeling frightened by the Camelford bypass project perhaps it would be a good time to reassess all the schemes currently on the books at County Hall – based on his new risk profile.”

The proposed route of the A39 Camelford bypass

Get the best stories and latest news delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you want here .

Mr Mann added: “Contrary to what Cllr Gardner has suggested, the council have taken an extremely risk-averse approach, factoring several tens of millions of pounds worth of risk, contingencies, and potential inflation, on top of the actual projected cost of building the bypass. This approach safeguards Cornish taxpayers and ensures that the Government should end up covering all the costs – and the final spend is unlikely to be anywhere near as high as the headline figure.

“I have said on many occasions that Cornwall Council has an opportunity to dramatically boost air quality and unlock the huge potential of Camelford and its surrounding area – this is the case which I have continually made to Government, and it’s an aspiration that successive ministers in the Department for Transport have agreed with. This is why, despite the pandemic and the cost of living, this Government continues to back the Camelford bypass. I am pleased, therefore, that the cabinet unanimously signed off on the project.”

Cllr Gardner responded to the MP’s comments, saying: “It is the role of all councillors to scrutinise and question anything which brings financial risk to the cabinet. I have taken the same approach to other large capital spends such as the Mid Cornwall Metro, Langarth Garden Village and the Pydar Redevelopment.

“At a projected cost of £147 million, the Camelford bypass could be the largest capital project ever undertaken by this council. Any overspend on the project would fall directly on Cornwall Council and the Cornish taxpayer. The merits of the project can be seen which is why the cabinet unanimously supported the bypass at this stage but I make no apology for taking a robust approach to all capital projects that this council undertakes, especially when we hold all of the risk.”