Cornwall Council’s cabinet will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday, June 27, 2022, to consider a plan to help stabilise Cornwall’s care sector market and a plan to release additional funding to deliver improved infrastructure so that new rubbish, recycling and food waste collections can be introduced in 2023.
The meeting has been called to consider the proposed acquisition of Cornwall Care by Sanctuary, specifically for the cabinet to agree to transfer the freehold of the 14 care home sites from Cornwall Council to Sanctuary.
This acquisition will help secure Cornwall’s care market and provide security for residents living in the homes. In return for the transfer of the sites Sanctuary will lead a programme which will see the development of new and refurbished care homes over a ten-year period.
Cabinet will also consider a paper setting out a plan to release additional funding to deliver new and improved infrastructure so that new rubbish, recycling and food waste collections can be introduced in 2023.
The introduction of these changes will improve recycling rates through the separate weekly collection of food waste, encourage more recycling and reduce the amount of rubbish collected, which will in turn help cut our carbon footprint.
With the rising costs being experienced across the country, the project to deliver this new and improved infrastructure now needs more capital funding.
The Council aims to ensure that all its capital projects make reasonable allowances for cost increases, however, the effect of inflation and the rapidly increasing costs of material and labour facing the whole construction industry, as well as issues such as rising fuel costs, have resulted in unprecedented cost increases that could not have been anticipated.
Members are being asked to consider increasing the current £62m capital programme to deliver the new collection arrangements for food waste and the increase in recycling.
The plan will see alterations to the four existing facilities at Bodmin, Connon Bridge, Launceston and St Erth, and a proposed new waste facility at Hallenbeagle.
To fund the extra borrowing, the proposal is that some funds are transferred from the waste revenue budget to the capital financing budget.
If Cabinet agrees to the new funding plan, the recommendation will be referred to full Council for a final decision.
The reports available on the Council’s website today (20 June 2022) sets out the proposals of both agenda items.