Heamoor villagers vote to leave Penzance Town Council

The village of Heamoor wants to form a new council

A village has voted to split away from a town council and set up its own authority in a bid to have more control over decisions.

Residents in Heamoor, Cornwall, have launched a bid to break away from Penzance Town Council after holding a public meeting.

Residents believe having their own council would keep them better informed about issues in the village.

Gulval, another nearby village, is also making a bid to split from the council.

Community group Save Heamoor from Excessive Development (Shed) organised the meeting after Cornwall Council invited communities to have their say about the future of parish and town councils as part of a wider review.

Cornwall Council is currently undertaking a community governance review which will be the first time that parish and town councils in the area have been altered since 1974.

Communities can put forward suggestions for how they should look in the future and can include bids for new councils, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Residents are concerned about the amount of council tax that is being spent in the village

Stephen Reynolds, from Shed, explained Heamoor suffered a "democratic deficit" as its three councillors on the town council - which has 20 members - could be outvoted even on matters relating to their village.

Residents are also concerned about the amount of money that council taxpayers provide to the town council and how much is invested back into the village.

Mr Reynolds said the town council received £167,000 from Heamoor residents each year but would spend just £8,000 in the village.

He said: "If Heamoor had its own council, we could raise our own money and spend it on the needs of our own community rather than on projects in Penzance."