CORNWALL Council has marked the 10-year anniversary of its formation last week – but what does the future hold?

One thing for certain is that the number of councillors is set to drop significantly at the next elections.

In 2021 the number of elected councillors will reduce from 123 to 87 following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

There have long been arguments about the number of councillors at County Hall – before the formation of the unitary council in 2009 some argued there should be more, but in recent years there have been some calls for a cut.

However there are fears that a reduction in councillors will see workloads increase significantly, with councillors having larger areas to cover, and will also have more committees to attend as there will be reduced numbers.

Work is already underway to review the council’s planning committee system to find out how that will work in future with the reduced numbers.

Cornwall Council will also continue to look at ways to generate more income as the amount of funding it gets from the Government is expected to continue to fall.

The council is already taking part in a pilot scheme which allows it to retain all business rates paid in Cornwall, but the Government has indicated that this will fall to 75% when it is rolled out across the country.

And the council is leading an ambitious investment programme which could see as much as £600 million being borrowed to invest in developments such as housing which could bring income into the council to fund services.

The investment programme will also be aiming to create workspaces which will encourage the creation of high quality, well paid jobs.

On the subject of housing, the council is still continuing with its programme to build 1,000 new homes for people in Cornwall and was last year the best performing authority for delivering affordable homes.

This will be combined with the council’s planned living rent scheme which will provide houses with rent rates determined by the income of people in each particular area.

The council is also leading the plans for the A30 being dualled between Carland Cross and Chiverton Cross and this week approved planning permission for the new St Austell to A30 link road.

Both these transport schemes will provide major improvements. There is also the council’s ‘one public transport’ system which is already being rolled out and will make it easier to get around by public transport.

A key element will be the increase in rail services between Penzance and Plymouth with two trains an hour running through Cornwall.

Cornwall Council is also behind plans for major new cycle routes in areas including Penzance, St Agnes, Liskeard and Looe – with an aim of increasing cycling tourism and providing facilities for locals.

And the council is supporting the hosting of the Tour of Britain cycle race which will launch from Cornwall and could be a stepping stone to hosting a stage of the Tour de France.

A major new rubbish and recycling contract is also in the frame which will see recycling and food waste being collected from the kerbside weekly and black bag waste collected fortnightly.

The council is also backing Spaceport Cornwall which has signed a deal with Virgin Orbit for horizontal satellite launches from Cornwall Airport Newquay.

With links and support with Goonhilly the space industry is hoped to offer major opportunities in bringing new businesses to Cornwall to work alongside the Spaceport.

The Cornwall Local Plan runs until 2030 so there will have to be work started on creating a new local plan which will set out the scale of new development which could take place up to 2050.

Developments are already taking shape in some parts of Cornwall with work set to continue on Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall’s Nansledan housing development in Newquay, the council getting involved in the major “new town” development for 8,000 on the outskirts of Truro around Langarth and other sites and work will also starting on the West Carclaze Garden Village outside St Austell, with 1,500 homes.

Of course you cannot mention Langarth without thinking about the Stadium for Cornwall – the council will hope that the Government will provide £3m of funding which will enable that project to get underway.

On top of all this there is also the continuing day-to-day running and provision of services for people all over Cornwall.

Further integration will take place between the council and health services in Cornwall – and there will have to be serious consideration for how Cornwall tackles the problem of an ageing population which brings an increasing demand for services.

And then there is the council’s recent declaration of a climate change emergency and the work which is going on to try to reduce Cornwall’s impact on the environment.

All departments at County Hall will be looking at what part they can play in ensuring that the environment is protected for future generations.

And all this has been mentioned without any reference to Brexit and the uncertainty that it could bring for Cornwall – there is still no indication for how Cornwall’s funding from the EU might be replaced or what funding might be available for the future.

The projects included in here are by no means exhaustive – there are many, many things which Cornwall Council is involved in.

As the curtain falls on the first 10 years of Cornwall Council a new door opens for the next decade. The council has published a document entitled New Frontiers which sets out a blueprint for the future. But as we look ahead it could have been called many other things – new challenges, new possibilities, new opportunities.

We will wait and see what happens over the next 10 years.