A CORNISH councillor has hit back at criticism over a committee meeting being held 35 miles from the Tamar Crossings – revealing venues in Saltash, Torpoint and Liskeard were all considered before Bodmin was chosen.

Cllr Andrew Long, joint chair of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, defended the decision after Saltash town councillor Steve Miller accused the authority of risking “disenfranchising” the people who use the bridge and ferry.

Friday’s meeting was held at Chy Trevail in Bodmin, despite the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry being on the Cornwall-Devon border and the majority of people directly affected by decisions of the committee living closer to the crossings.

Cllr Miller had questioned why the meeting was not held in Saltash, Torpoint, Liskeard or Plymouth, arguing Bodmin was significantly less accessible for residents and ferry users.

However, Cllr Long said a “tremendous amount of work” had been carried out to find a suitable venue in Cornwall.

“We have done a tremendous amount of work to try to get a location where we can meet in Cornwall,” he said. “That location, we are being told by Democratic Services, has to be a council building.

“For reasons of technology, and the fact that we are broadcasting this, it has to be in a council building.”

Cllr Long said the committee had examined possible venues in Saltash and Torpoint, as well as looking at council buildings – Chi Austel in St Austell, as well as Chi Marghas in Liskeard.

However, concerns were raised over whether the buildings were large enough to accommodate committee meetings and members of the public.

Cllr Long said he now believed Chi Marghas could potentially provide a solution and confirmed he would return to the Liskeard building after Friday’s meeting to examine it again.

“In our view, having seen the people and the quantities of people who can come to these meetings, potentially Chi Marghas might work in this case,” he said. “So, post this meeting, I’m going to look at going down to Chi Marghas again to look at that building and see if it can be used.”

His comments came after Cllr Miller wrote to Cornwall Council democratic officer Richard Orpwood to challenge the decision to hold the meeting in Bodmin.

Cllr Miller said the venue was almost 35 miles from the Tamar Bridge and argued that travelling to Bodmin was substantially more difficult for the people most directly affected by the committee’s decisions.

“It is a public meeting where most of the interested users live within 15 miles of the Tamar Bridge, including ferry users,” he said. “Bodmin is nearly 35 miles distant, meaning travelling more than three times as far for most people.”

Cllr Miller said the decision therefore risked “disenfranchising” public representation.

However, Cllr Long said the committee also had to recognise its joint responsibility, with Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council overseeing the crossings together.

“We do have to go Plymouth, Cornwall, Plymouth, Cornwall, because Cornwall Council is jointly responsible for the crossings,” he said. “Therefore, it’s important that we do that.”