Penryn Town Council has said it will fight a rent increase by Cornwall Council which would be shameful if proposed by a private landlord.

On September 24 the unitary authority gave notice on Saracen House, the town council's offices, and offered a new 21 year lease with a 158 per cent increase in rent, from £4,652 annually to £12,000, or £1,000 per month.

Councillor Martin Mullins said the council deserved an explanation and the mayor, Mark Snowdon, said: "If I'd done that as a private landlord I'd be ashamed of myself."

The council does not have to accept the terms, which are open to discussion, and will open into negotiations with Cornwall Council, but if new terms cannot be agreed by March 2016 when the current lease ends then either party can apply to the courts to settle the matter.

Councillor Snowdon said he wanted to see a list of "comparables," and to know how Cornwall Council had come to this decision, while councillor John Langan asked if there were any shops on the high street which the toen council could move into.

Councillor Mary May said: "We don't want to find we're paying £12,000 here and £15,000 for the library," however Councillor John Langan said the council was hoping to be given the library by asset transfer, which is part of plans to move the council offices to the same building.

The council voted to set up a group, comprised of Councillors Snowdon, Langan, May and Christopher Smith, to negotiate terms with Cornwall Council and to look at other options within the town, and also to set aside £12,000 in next year's budget for what town clerk Michelle Davey called a "worst case scenario."