Residents living near the site of a planned new town have complained that properties owned by Cornwall Council have been left insecure and are being vandalised. The councillor for Langarth, near Truro, has been approached about the lack of security at empty buildings such as East Langarth Farm. There have also been complaints that dog poo bins along the new Northern Access Road are overflowing and never emptied.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, told us: "The council has stopped all security and now teenagers and homeless are breaking in to the properties. Doors smashed. There were gas cylinders in the buildings. It's just a matter of time before it's set alight or an accident happens.
"There were a number of teenage kids there messing around while I was walking my dog. They were abusive and swearing when I told them it was dangerous. The council had just put cable ties keeping gates up. It's a joke.
"I have reported this to Cllr Dulcie Tudor and she has contacted someone and said they would make sure it's secure, but plastic cable ties are not going to keep them out, as I found out this afternoon."
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At the same time as the resident contacted CornwallLive, Cllr Dulcie Tudor, a politically non-aligned councillor whose Chacewater and Threemilestone division includes Langarth, took to social media to explain the situation. She said: "Thank you to those who've messaged me about bins along the new Northern Access Road spilling over with dog poo bags, etc, as well as empty buildings within the site not being properly secured."
Regarding the bins, she said: "The council/(it's development company)Treveth/Cormac had installed the bins with no thought to how they would be emptied. I've objected to plans to solve this by removing the bins and insisted a formal system to empty them is put in place. This is now being addressed as part of general stewardship of the whole new town site."
She added that the derelict properties would be fenced off securely "asap" to prevent accidents and squatting.
We contacted Cornwall Council last week and again this week for a statement. A spokesperson said they were waiting to speak to the relevant officers before commenting. However, residents have since told us that proper security fencing has now been installed after our inquiry.
The resident who originally contacted us added: "It’s all down to cost. They stopped the security and now started again since we complained."
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Residents Fear Accident at Insecure Council Houses Vandalised by Teens