About Treverbyn Parish

Many of the Parish boundaries originated from the Treverbyn Manor, which was the Gill Estate. The Treverbyn Manor was situated at Starrick Moor/Knightor but was demolished in the 18th Century. Most of the Parish footpaths were probably used by the Estate workers to get to and repair properties, and to get to work in the China clay pits. The Estate more or less covered the whole of the Treverbyn Parish and in the 1950s the remainder of Treverbyn Estate was taken over by ECLP. This is why so much of the land is owned by this company because in those days land was sold leasehold and returned to the Estate after 99 years. It is important to protect our environment, reinstate our wildlife, and keep our footpaths open so our heritage can be enjoyed by many more generations to come, and this the Parish Council has worked towards since its formation in 1983.

In the beginning …

The Parish Council Formation Committee was originally formed in 1978 over dissatisfaction that the Council Representatives of the time were letting the residents of Bugle down, over plans by ECLP to build clay tanks at Beam Lane to the rear of Rosevear’s furniture shop. Suggestions were made that a Parish Council should be formed to make local voices heard, and a compromise on the tanks was finally reached. The County Council Representative at that time was Dr. Clyne who was opposed to the forming of a Parish Council. In the ensuing weeks the possibility of forming a Parish Council became a reality and the Treverbyn Parish Council Formation Committee was born. It became known that a Parish Council for Treverbyn did exist many years ago but was abolished when the Treverbyn Parish became the North Ward of the newly formed St Austell Urban District Council. The Urban District was later to become the St Austell with Fowey Borough Council, and then Restormel Borough Council. It was agreed that meetings be held on the last Tuesday of each month. The Parish Council still holds its main meetings on this day.

The Parish Council holds assets of land and equipment for the community. These assets include recreational and play areas which we have either purchased or aquired as part of planning agreements where development has taken place. we are responsible for the maintenence of these areas, as well as footpaths, allotments and some bus shelters. The Council recognises that amenity areas will always be needed within the community, and we will acquire more when we have suitable opportunities. Cornwall Council is currently seeking to get parishes to take on responsibility for other facilities, such as public conveniences and cemetries. We will be discussing these proposals over the next few months.

The Parish Council is a consultee for every planning application submitted for development within the parish, and occasionally for proposals in neighbouring parishes. It has been a common complaint from many Town and Parish Councils that their recommendations are ignored. It is important to note that the Parish Council is a consultee for planning applications, not a decision making body. The Local Planning Authority is Cornwall Council.

Recreation

There are four main areas for recreation in the Parish. They are:

• At Beam Lane in Bugle which has a skateboard park and all weather football pitch as well as a conventional football pitch.
• At Treverbyn Park there is a football pitch, play equipment, skateboard park, as well as the Stenalees Bowling Club.
• Treverbyn Park is owned and maintained by Cornwall Council.
• At Penwithick Recreation Ground there are slides and swings and a climbing frame, also maintained by Cornwall Council.

Starrick Moor is a football field and there are smaller recreation grounds at Ruddlemoor and Trethurgy.

Looking to the future…

The Parish faces many challenges over the next few years. When Cornwall Council was formed from Cornwall County Council and the six District Councils, Cornwall Council became the Local Planning Authority, and we are seeing planning decisions made by councillors who are not familiar with the area. The Localism Act 2011 gives the Parish the ability to shape its own future to a point. A Parish Plan was completed in 2010, but a Neighbourhood Plan would enable the Parish to add to requirements of the planning process, as long as those requirements did not conflict with Cornwall Council’s Core Strategy. A neighbourhood plan could help to bring some planning policy for the parish back to the parish.

A planning application for the Baal Pit section of the Eco-Town is currently on hold, waiting the completion of Cornwall Council’s Core Strategy. If this development goes ahead, it will inevitably bring some challenges in assimilating such a large development into the parish.