Cornwall Council has bought a further area of land on the site of the proposed Langarth Garden Village.

According to the Council, the transfer of the 67 acres of land is a vital part of the Council’s long-term strategy to provide a new community with "local character, strong services and integrated and accessible transport and green spaces."

However, the purchase comes after controversy regarding the amount the Council had paid for the initial plot of land.

As previously reported by The Packet, claims were made that the council had paid £1.45million for a parcel of land that had been bought only four years earlier for £100,000, equating to a percentage increase of 1,350 per cent.

Regarding the recent purchase, the Council’s portfolio holder for resources, David Harris, said: "This is another important step in the Council’s plans to deliver Langarth Garden Village.

"The purchase of the land follows a robust commercial analysis of the current position and an assessment of the best way to control future risk.

Read Next:

"It provides the means to secure the delivery of much-needed affordable housing and associated infrastructure, including in adjoining communities. 

"The land is of strategic importance to the Council, securing its interests and its investments for the long term alongside achieving a financial advantageous position on the cost of delivery of essential infrastructure."

At the time of the intial land purchase, then Conservative group leader, Linda Taylor, said: "It is sadly not surprising to see the continued haemorrhaging of Cornish taxpayer money via the money pit that is the Langarth Project.

"We warned this Lib Dem and Independent Administration that if they continued their foolhardy plans to turn Cornwall Council into a property developer for open market housing, it would ultimately be the Cornish taxpayer that would suffer."

A hybrid planning application, which includes outline planning permission for the Garden Village and full planning permission for the Northern Access Road, was submitted to Council planners in November 2020.

Work is currently taking place to respond to queries and comments from the initial consultation. 

This is expected to be completed by September, with the planning application then being considered by the Strategic Planning Committee in late autumn.

The Packet has asked the council for a figure regarding the cost of the land.