[lg policy] Kernow/Cornwall: Mixed Views on New Unitary Authority

[Harold Schiffman]

Kernow/Cornwall: Mixed Views on New Unitary Authority


MANX — A meeting of the cabinet of the new Cornwall unitary authority
was held last week which discussed its future Cornish language policy
and support for Cornish culture.
Among the issues members of the cabinet was set to discuss at the
meeting was whether to make the authority fully bilingual and how best
to `promote and protect indigenous Cornish culture'.

The new unitary council replaced Cornwall County Council as Cornwall's
government earlier this year and, according to one long standing
independent councillor who spoke unofficially to the League recently,
it is the most Cornish council he has ever known. However many people
criticised the move to a unitary authority, because it scrapped the
district level of local government and with it a level of democracy
that many people saw as invaluable for making decisions at a ground
roots level. Critics, including Mebyon Kernow – the Party for
Cornwall, also say that the unitary authority is a step away from a
Cornish Assembly.

The reason why the new Cornwall council must now debate its Cornish
language policy is because the six district councils in Cornwall were
previously responsible for implementing their own policies, which
included road signage. Two of the six district councils (Kerrier and
Carrick) had a bilingual policy for road signs and it will be
recommended at today's meeting that the new unitary council adopts a
similar policy. If agreed by the cabinet this could potentially mean
that over a period of time all road signs in Cornwall will be fully
bilingual.

Another recommendation to be pursued at the meeting was that members should:

« endorse the planned approach to redirect Cultural Services resources
to support capacity building with partnerships and organisations that
are responsible for, and have a commitment to, protecting and
promoting indigenous Cornish Culture. »

This could lead to, a cultural improvement plan and a new Cultural
Strategy for Cornwall will have to be developed, potentially deepening
and strengthening the Cornish cultural landscape. Once agreed, the new
Cornish language policy and cultural commitment is planned to take
affect later on this month.

http://www.agencebretagnepresse.com/fetch.php?id=16657&title=Kernow/Cornwall:%20Mixed%20Views%20on%20New%20Unitary%20Authority
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