THE former deputy leader of Cornwall Council has raised further questions and concerns about the local authority’s decision to purchase a derelict pub for £1-m, which was then never used for housing – a decision dubbed a “cock-up” by the council’s current leader.

The council bought the former General Wolfe pub in St Austell, through its Corserv wing, for £1-million in 2020 to provide temporary housing, but it remained empty, deteriorating and a haven for antisocial behaviour in the ensuing years.

Cornwall Council said last summer that the projected costs of undertaking work to convert the historic building – which was Grade II listed in 1999 – had increased significantly, with estimates at more than £2.5-m.

As a result, the building was put up for auction, selling for just £275,000 last month. The £725,000 loss has only added to the controversy over the ill-fated purchase of the General Wolfe and who is actually to blame for such a huge waste of taxpayers’ money.

Referring to the matter as a “cock-up” at a recent meeting, the council’s current Lib Dem leader Cllr Leigh Frost stressed there would not be an internal investigation.

“We know what happened, we know why it happened, we know how it happened. So reinvestigating something we already know is a waste of our time and money,” he told a meeting of the full council, adding that lessons had been learned.

David Harris – who was deputy leader of the then Conservative-led council between 2021 and 2025 – believes that Cllr Frost should “explain in detail the ‘whats, whys and hows’ as during my time in cabinet I could never get to the bottom of exactly what had happened.

“As everything is water under the bridge I would add that I cannot see any justification for any information being held back under any of the usual grounds”.

In December 2019, the then coalition Liberal Democrat / Independent cabinet (which included members who are still councillors and cabinet members today) approved the acquisition of a portfolio of private rented properties by Corserv to the tune of £39.3m to assist in meeting temporary accommodation requirements across Cornwall.

The matter was delegated to the then strategic director for economic growth and development in consultation with the chief financial officer and monitoring officer to agree “detailed terms and conditions of the agreement for the use of the funds by Cornwall Housing Limited or another Cornwall Council-owned entity”.

The purchase of the General Wolfe was part of that programme, said Mr Harris, who retired as a councillor on election day in May 2025.

He has highlighted that the future administration of the project was delegated to officers alone. “There was no requirement for any future purchases or draw-downs to be approved by any cabinet member or members, which I find somewhat cavalier.

“Here was cabinet approving a £40-million commitment without putting in place any checks and balances.”

Mr Harris added: “The actual resolution referred to ‘acquisition of a portfolio of private rented properties’. A reasonable person would say that the Wolfe was an acquisition well outside of the scope of the actual resolution. Was this really never discussed with any cabinet member before contracts were exchanged; did no officer consider this point?”

A leaked Corserv ‘internal audit report’ refers to a surveyor’s report recommending a full feasibility study before the purchase of the former pub was completed. “Who, by name not title, saw this report and chose to ignore it?” asked Mr Harris.

“I assume that the entering into the contract to purchase the Wolfe was approved by a Corserv Property Limited board meeting. Can we see the minutes of this meeting to see whether any concerns were raised about the deal and how these were dealt with?”

Mr Harris – who is now recovering after spending four-and-a-half months in hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a quad bike accident the day before his 70th birthday last October – added that the leaked report mentions a “commitment to purchase and likely timescale before completion.”

“Where did this commitment to purchase and timescale come from as there is no reference anywhere to a ‘commitment’, so how and by whom was this given and what has been done to ensure that nothing similar can happen again?”

He said: “The over-riding impression I have had of this matter for some time is that council officers were working to some sort of self-imposed timetable which they were then imposing on Corserv.

“Is there not any correspondence between Corserv and the council on this matter which would help us to really understand what happened here?”

A spokesperson for Corserv said: “Unfortunately we are unable to comment at this time due to the progress of the sale.”