Monday 6th June 2011
GUEST SPEAKER – SHERYLL MURRAY MP
The Chairman welcomed back Sheryll Murray who had previously attended a Chamber Meeting as parliamentary candidate.
Mrs. Murray said that since her election she had opened an office in Liskeard where anyone with an issue could walk in, no appointments
needed. She referred to the Localism Bill soon expected to be passed which was intended to make small business rate relief automatic and
avoid the need for claiming, as well as cut red tape to help boost small businesses.
She was opposed to Cornwall Council1s policy of applying a standard parking rate throughout the county. The forthcoming Localism Bill,
when enacted, would allow local referenda and she suggested that this might be used to seek to make the town council use part of its
precept to subsidise cheaper or free parking. She would be willing to raise the issue of local parking with secretary of state Mr. Pickles
if the Chamber wrote officially to her requesting this.
It was mentioned that Saltash had been promised early superfast
broadband. The company bringing this to Cornwall and based in Redruth was not bringing this to South East Cornwall in the first tranche,
it was coming to Liskeard in March 2012 and to Saltash in Autumn 2012_ among the last in Cornwall whereas the town had been promised
that it would be among the first. Mrs. Murray promised to look into this.
Mrs. Murray was asked as to how the Big Society would be realised in Cornwall. She explained that the voluntary sector would be
encouraged to cover work that public funding could no longer afford. The Big Society Bank was set up to fund new projects and she would
forward details of this to the Chamber. There was general concern as to local shopping areas suffering from
the financial downturn and from out of town competition. Mrs. Murray acknowledged that there was a limited amount to be done to help this
but that she had recently helped with a local fashion show to promote Saltash businesses and she would be pleased to be called upon
to assist In any practical way possible.
She was asked about changes in planning law and advised that under
the localism bill subject to local referendum and approval of a local substantial majority residents would be able to grant their own
planning permission subject to no community growing by more than 10% over ten years.
The Chairman thanked Mrs. Murray and invited her to remain for the remainder of the meeting which she agreed to do.
