a) Hayle Harbour Update
[155 STANDING AGENDA ITEMS (FOR REPORTING ONLY)]

Councillor Pollard reported that CC was undergoing a peer challenge which had involved six representatives from all over the country coming to Cornwall to see how the council was operating. Hayle had been visited and a positive meeting held, with Councillors Coad and Pollard putting up a strong case for CC to take over the management of the harbour. A video from the Wave Hub had also been shown.

For months CC had been doing due diligence towards taking on the harbour. It had been a greed in January 2017 that CC would buy the harbour and the land around it and provide housing . Due diligence was taking longer than expected but the issue was expected to come before the cabinet in the near future. The portfolio holder had acknowledged that it was still a priority . Councillor Pollard was anxious that CC buy the whole site and develop it for businesses and housing of a good standard and he acknowledged that this was a new direction for CC. In response to a question he added that until CC owned the land it was not able to apply for a grant from the Coastal Communities Fund, although it had already applied for funding for infrastructure, such as roads; the aim of the investment by CC was to attract jobs to the area and having a working estuary was part of this aim.