I WAS relieved to be undercover at the Eden Project last week with several Liberal Democrat councillors to support the Tourism and Hospitality sector, a major part of our economy.

Ironically, Eden was set up as a tourism attraction to recreate different climate zones and raise awareness of climate change. We are witnessing more violent storms and high rainfall. Despite the physical evidence, Reform continues to deny that global warming exists. In contrast, the Liberal Democrats have campaigned for decades to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which are a primary driver of climate change, whilst planning ahead for a more unpredictable climate.

When I was at Eden, the Corporate Finance meeting was taking place in Truro. Members heard that Cornwall received around £100-million of annual funding from the European Union over five years ago to “effectively zero” this year, now that the Tory Government’s post-Brexit replacement Shared Prosperity Fund ends in March.

Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for economy said that - ‘at best’ - the Duchy will now receive around £10-million a year of structural funding from this Labour Government for the new Kernow Industrial Growth Fund, though this will target specific sectors for a limited period. As the only party that campaigned to remain, Liberal Democrats find it hard to accept the outcome.

Sarah Preece, divisional member for Lostwithiel and Lanreath and cabinet member for tourism, led the discussions at the Eden event, setting out the journey since Visit Cornwall went into liquidation last October. Over 200 people attended, with leading figures from the sector providing updates on the work undertaken to support the sector and maintain a profile for Cornwall during this key booking period.

In her role as cabinet member, she was able to draw on the convening power of Cornwall Council to bring people together.

“It’s so important that we listen to the businesses, associations, organisations and representatives from across the sector,” she said. “The summit brought those voices together and marked a key milestone in the journey to determine what comes next.”

Sarah said she emerged from the summit to photos on social media of her hometown of Lostwithiel completely flooded and the emergency services called out to rescue stranded drivers. On her return, she joined the flood wardens for a briefing to hear the community centre had been set up to take evacuated residents, and monitoring routes identified for the wardens.

With three storms back-to-back and high spring tides due, it continues to be a challenging time. Please can residents use the “Report It” link on www.cornwall.gov.uk to report non-emergency highway issues or fallen trees, or call Cornwall Council on 0300 1234 222 to report an emergency hazard, rather than just writing about it on social media or telling your councillor, as they may be away, ill or in meetings.

Other multi-agency services continue to manage the impact as best they can, but people remain without key services while power and internet providers work to rectify connections, and flooding remains extreme due to the heavily saturated ground.