Cornwall Council has been heavily criticised for spending more than £46,000 to send staff to a planning conference in Cannes in the south of France, BBC Local Democracy Reporter

It was revealed last week that the council had paid out to send a team to the MIPIM conference which took place in Cannes earlier this month.

The council has defended the decision, saying that it was launching the Cornwall Investment Fund which is worth £600 million and was looking to secure further investment in Cornwall which could bring many benefits to the county.

The MIPIM is an international conference which attracts major development companies from all over the world along with planning authorities from across the globe. The UK sent the most number of delegates to the event with more than 2,000 people going from this country.

Delegates attending from Cornwall included council chief executive Kate Kennally; John Betty, council strategic director for economic growth and development; three staff from Cornwall Development Company and Invest In Cornwall; and St Austell Brewery chief executive James Staughton, who is also chairman of the Cornwall Place Board.

However the decision to send the party and the cost of the visit has been criticised along with the way the council withheld information from councillors who had questioned the decision.

Conservative councillor James Mustoe said he first asked Liberal Democrat council leader Adam Paynter to explain the decision and cost last Monday. He asked again in person on Wednesday and then a statement was published after 5pm on Friday.

Mr Mustoe, who represents Mevagissey, said: “After reading the three page statement a few times, I’m still not sure what the tangible gains for Cornwall are. I’m not sure if the leader himself even knows. He tries to talk the talk but it is just pseudo-corporate wishy-washy management speak.

“I have no objection to the council attracting inward investment. But this isn’t a private company responsible to its managers or shareholders. It is Cornwall’s council, serving us the people of Cornwall, and spending Cornish taxpayer money. Your money.

“The timing of this trip, falling as it did when council tax bills that have gone up by 4.99% have landed on our doormats (I picked mine off my doormat five minutes after getting the statement), a decision made and voted for by the same people who decided to authorize this trip, is simply shameful.

“The lack of communication, both to councillors and the public, is appalling.”

Mr Mustoe is still asking how the decision was made to attend the event and who made it.

In his 845-word statement which was sent to all 123 members of Cornwall Council Mr Paynter defended the decision to send delegates to the event.

He said: “If we are serious about the future of Cornwall and securing inward investment, we need to attend events like these or pass up the opportunity to compete for millions of pounds of inward investment. It is my personal view that we cannot afford to be passive, sit back and wait for investors to come to us. At the same time, it is also right for all of us to expect value for money from the costs of attending.”

The statement also gave a breakdown of the money spent on the trip which included £23,883 for accommodation/meeting space; £10,350 for tickets to MIPIM; £3,515.88 on travel and £315.26 on sundries.

Mr Paynter said: “There is no doubt that this is a lot of money but to properly showcase Cornwall to the world this is a price worth paying to get the investment in Cornwall.”

In a statement Cornwall Council said: “At MIPIM, we launched the Cornwall Investment Fund, worth up to £600m, by promoting significant investment opportunities in infrastructure including Cornwall Enterprise Zones, West Carclaze Garden Village, Housing and many others.

“If Cornwall is serious about building a strong future for itself and securing inward investment, we need to attend events like these or pass up the opportunity to compete for millions of pounds of inward investment. We cannot afford to be passive, sit back and wait for investors to come to us.

“We will be following up all leads for inward investment into Cornwall as a result of MIPIM and will keep members and our residents updated.”