CALLINGTON’s representative on Cornwall Council is leading the charge against a ‘triple whammy’ of poor treatment levelled at the area by what he says is ‘a Truro-centric’ authority.

Cllr Andrew Long, Mebyon Kernow’s representative for Callington and St Dominic, made the plea after the region was hit with three bits of bad news in as many weeks, leaving the people of South East Cornwall feeling ‘like second-class citizens’. Marshalling support from fellow opposition councillors, he has secured a meeting with leader of the Conservative-led council over ‘a triple blow of decisions made either in Cornwall or Westminster’. He is angry that bus cuts were sprung on people in the Callington area at the same time as they were left out of a fares slash in the rest of Cornwall. Tolls on the Tamar Bridge have also been hiked.

Cllr Long continued: ‘Over the past few weeks, South East Cornwall has been hit with a triple blow of decisions made either in Cornwall or Westminster which leave us feeling like second-class citizens.

‘The appalling toll increases on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry mean that for thousands of people, attending the hospital in Derriford effectively costs every one of us more, for a service that is supposed to be free at the point of use.

‘Then we see that the much heralded bus fares pilot for Cornwall actually does not help us, as if the service finishes across the border we do not benefit from any fares reduction – further penalising the population, many of whom do not have a choice in transportation.’

He added: ‘Then to hear that the Government are effectively only giving Cornwall one third of the promised £ for £ match funding that was anticipated following the decision to leave the EU. [Prime Minister] Mr Johnson made the promise during the campaign but now we see the reality.’

After petitioning Cornwall Council Conservative leader Linda Taylor, he has now secured a meeting with her on May 10 to discuss the issues affecting the Callington and Calstock areas, as well as Saltash and the Rame Peninsula.

A number of other South East Cornwall councillors have been invited to the meeting, including Calstock Labour councillor Dorothy Kirk.

Cllr Long continued: ‘At the moment what I am doing is canvassing support from other councillors in South East Cornwall. I think the frustration for us is that this is really a triple whammy.

‘In the space of six months we have had the increase in tolls on the bridge, reduced bus services in our rural areas and for Cornwall Council to come up with a solution of cutting bus fares but then leave this area out.’

He has discovered that important bus routes in the Calstock and Callington area, including the number 12 to Bude via Callington and the number 79 from Callington to Tavistock, are not eligible for bus fare reductions, which Cornwall Council is paying for with a £32-million government grant, as they are partly in Devon.

‘This means that if you travel by bus on the number 12 from Bude through Callington, 90 per cent of your journey is in Cornwall you won’t benefit from any discounted fare because your destination is Plymouth. When the Conservative administration is saying fares have been cut throughout Cornwall it is not correct. They have not been cut in South East Cornwall.

‘A lot of the services we need to access are in Tavistock and Plymouth. People in Callington for example, if they want to see the doctor in Tavistock they will not benefit in any way from reduced fares. It really bugs me, because they were promoting this as a wonderful thing for Cornwall, getting this £32 million grant. Then we find out we are not going to benefit from it.’

He said cuts to the bus services on the outskirts of Callington and surrounding villages were also affecting people without cars travelling into to their shopping in Callington or at the Tesco on the outskirts of the town.

‘Part of the problem is the lack of engagement,’ he said. ‘We weren’t told that any of this was going to happen. We are being treated like second-class citizens. I will be asking [Cornwall Council leader] Linda Taylor to rectify this for the area when I meet her on May 10.’