A POLITICAL war of words has broken out over a Cornish MP lending his support to residents who are opposed to plans for a geothermal plant in the Duchy. A member of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet is so astonished at Ben Maguire’s stance he’s asked the Liberal Democrat MP if he’s about to switch to Reform UK.
The project involves a phased development with drilling of two deep geothermal wells and resource testing before the construction of a power plant. The drill rig mast expected to be used would be a maximum of 55 metres (182ft) in height.
However, local residents – and now their MP – are concerned about its effects on a sensitive site. They have even questioned possible Chinese investment in the scheme and if it’s a front for lithium extraction. A Cornwall Council strategic planning committee deferred the application last month for more technical details after concerns were raised about the project’s impact on the environmentally sensitive River Camel.
Mr Maguire said last week: “This project has moved forward with seemingly no proper public consultation and, for a development of this scale, without environmental or seismic impact assessments. Residents here are absolutely right to feel they’ve been left in the dark.
“That’s why I raised concerns over the proximity to the River Camel, seismic risks from drilling 3km underground, uncertainty over whether this is truly a geothermal project (or a front for lithium extraction) and the lack of accountability linked to Chinese investment.”
He added: “Cornwall has huge potential for renewable energy and mineral extraction, but it must be done in the right way … with transparency, consultation with Camelford’s local residents and the proper safeguards in place.”
On a Facebook post by Mr Maguire about his opposition to the plan, Cllr Tim Dwelly – Cornwall Council’s Independent portfolio holder for economic regeneration and investment – responded: “Are you about to switch to Reform Ben? It’s just that many would normally associate attacks on renewable energy and fake news about geothermal technology (which is not fracking) as right up their street.
“Geothermal and lithium are incredibly important to Cornwall and I’ve been happy to work closely with Lib Dems for many years to promote renewables in response to the climate emergency (and the importance of Cornwall’s critical minerals). Is this a new U turn? If you are not careful you will be getting applause from Reform for posts like this. Oh wait….”
Cllr Dwelly was referring to another comment on Mr Maguire’s post by Reform UK’s group leader in Cornwall, Cllr Rob Parsonage, who wrote: “Ben Maguire repeats what was stated at the strategic planning meeting I attended some weeks ago and points we raised as Reform UK. Great to see we are ahead of the game again.”
The MP was approached to see if he wanted to respond to Cllr Dwelly’s comments. He certainly did and didn’t hold back. “I am a big supporter of Cornish lithium and clean renewable energy like geothermal. However, I will never apologise for standing full square behind my constituents when I see due process has not been properly followed as appears to be the case with this application.
“I find it incredible that a project of this scale has not had a proper environmental impact assessment with it being so close to the River Camel. The local community tell me there has been little to no consultation or engagement beyond visits by the applicant to local schools. It has some of the hallmarks of the failed seaweed farm applications at Port Isaac and Port Quin where local people were totally sidelined. It is my job to make sure local residents have a voice.”
He added: “Tim has a history of coming out with silly comments, most recently suggesting the council should flog off all its farms. He’s been carping from the sidelines for as long as I can remember but now that he finds himself in the Cabinet at Cornwall Council I’d gently suggest he comments a bit less and starts doing a bit more. On that note, I am looking forward to working with him on a strategy for Cornwall Airport Newquay and the Aerohub which have huge untapped economic potential.”
Cllr Dwelly actually said at a meeting last month that if the council was to reduce its multi-million-pound debt, the “number one thing” would be to sell off the farms estate. However, he added: “This is about this local authority owning farms and what it does with them. My own hunch is there might be some new uses for some of the land, but I don’t expect there to be a radical getting rid of council farms. I don’t want people to pretend that’s what’s happening as it clearly isn’t going to be the priority for the administration to do that.”
Comments
This article has no comments yet. Be the first to leave a comment.