Former cabinet member apologises for conduct code breach over Spaceport job

A FORMER senior Cornwall councillor has apologised for breaching the unitary authority's code of conduct by backing a £200,000 grant to Spaceport Cornwall after he'd been offered a job there.

- by LEE TREWHELA

Louis Gardner, the former Conservative portfolio-holder for the economy, accepted the role of Head of Future Air and Space at the spaceport, located at Newquay airport, while he was still a member of the council's cabinet.

He then failed to declare an interest during a meeting at which £200,000 of government money from the Shared Prosperity Fund was approved for the Spaceport.

The matter, branded a scandal by opposition councillors, dominated the council's final meeting before the election on May 1, with many saying it had brought both them and the council into disrepute.

Mr Gardner, from Newquay, relinquished the economic portfolio on taking the job with Cornwall Airport Ltd, which runs the Spaceport, and retired as a councillor on May 1.

Cornwall Council withdrew the £200,000 funding in April and Mr Gardner resigned from Spaceport Cornwall in May after the furore.

An assessment of his behaviour was conducted by the council's assurance officer Simon Mansell following complaints from Matthew Stokes, the council's head of legal and democratic services, and Independent councillor Julian German.