A COMMUNITY interest company (CIC) set up to protect Pendennis Headland from development has received the backing of the town council.

At a meeting of Falmouth Town Council's finance and general purposes committee last week, Cllr Jude Robinson proposed that members support the initiative.

She told fellow councillors that the CIC was developing and she was heartened that all the various groups were working together and would have one voice.

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She recommended therefore that the council supported the CIC and play a part in its development as a stakeholder.

In principle the council agreed unanimously to nominate a director of the CIC as well as an observer.

To provide the asset lock (i.e. for the land ownership default if the CIC fails it remains in public ownership) and to provide some grant assistance from councillors community chest funds to help establish/set-up the CIC.

Pendennis Leisure Community Interest Company has been formed to save Ships and Castles and to protect the headland from housing or hotel development.

It is made up of the community's business people and experts in areas such as finance and pool maintenance and leisure centre management.

It came together to put forward a bid to run the threatened Ships and Castles leisure while a solution is found. It had until November 19 to do it.

The company is organising a massive community show of love for Ships and Castles and the headland this Sunday, November 28 at 1pm. The company wants as many people as possible to attend. All are welcome, especially children.

Cornwall Council is currently considering whether it should let leisure centres in Falmouth, Launceston, Saltash and Wadebridge, as well as the hydrotherapy pool in St Austell, close.

It comes after operator GLL told the council that it could no longer run the facilities without financial subsidy – the council has said that it has no budget for leisure services, which are not a statutory requirement.

So far a petition to "Protect Pendennis Headland and Save our Public Pool" has gained nearly 2,500 signatures. You can sign it here

A petition calling for all Cornwall councillors to be allowed to debate and vote on the possible closure of leisure centres broke its initial target of 5,000 signatures, being signed by 5,623 people before it closed.

Independent councillors launched the petition in a bid to secure the signatures required for it to be debated at the next meeting of full council on November 30.

As well as securing the signatures on the petition, a cross-party group of councillors have also now submitted a motion to full council which calls for the decision on the future of leisure centres to be made by all councillors and not just the ten on the cabinet.

A meeting of Cornwall Council's cabinet to decide the future of the leisure centres is due to take place on December 15.