A FALMOUTH councillor aims to help thaw frosty relations between North Parade residents and a marine contractor at Falmouth Wharves.

Following a meeting between Keynvor Morlift Ltd's managing director Diccon Rogers and residents on Saturday, Cllr Mathew McCarthy aims to "facilitate communication" to deal with their ongoing concerns over industrial traffic movements in the area.

He said: "There might be a lack of trust there. The residents recognise that KML is a significant employer in the town, but at times the scale of the traffic was absurd during the summer, as residents are trying to enjoy their gardens.

"There is definitely common ground to be found - it's not a hopeless situation. It's my intention to facilitate communication between them and for both parties to demonstrate their willingness to work together."

The Packet first ran a story about the issue last month, when residents also complained about the behaviour and attitude of the lorry drivers carrying the granite boulders to the wharf.

A letter sent by the residents referred to the drivers as "hoodlums of the road", but haulage firm Pellows responded by claiming that one of their lorries was "targeted" by a man brandishing a garden hose.

Saturday's meeting was set up to explore resolutions to the issue, but one resident who was present said that it became heated because of Mr Rogers' alleged "arrogance".

Mr McCarthy, who was unable to attend the meeting, said: "The wharves site has long been accepted as one of the key strategic places for employment in Falmouth. KML are looking at the possibility of having a cache in future, which could mean just a few days of high intensity traffic to enable material to be stored at the site."

Only one barge is able to be loaded from the wharf at any given time, meaning that material has to be delivered on a regular basis - unless a storage cache is brought in.

Mr McCarthy, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Penwerris ward added: "It is vital that everyone can get around a table and work out a solution and it is my intention to make that happen."