From a General Election which saw the political landscape change in the UK to shocking murder trials, a slump in tourism and a string of well-known high-street companies going bust, it has certainly been an eventful year.
As we tick down the months you might think we’ve had the biggest headlines already, but November was no different and the news kept coming thick an fast. Here we’ve taken a look at the highs and the lows of the 11 month of the year.
November’s news was undoubtedly dominated by the permanent closure of Flambards theme park in Helston. The sudden closure came months after bosses at the theme park announced that they were planning to upgrade Flambards with new rides aimed at young people after the retirement of several of its older rides. But that will never materialise as Flambards, which first opened in 1976, said it has faced “numerous challenges to continue bringing joy to families and visitors across the region”.
A teenager died, and six others were taken to hospital after a two-vehicle collision at the crossroads between St Tudy and St Breward, near the B3266 on Friday, November 1. There were calls for the Plusha junction on the A30 near Launceston to be improved with a bridge following the death of a woman earlier this month, the third death in six months.
Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, from Gunnislake, South East Cornwall, was killed in action in Ukraine while serving with the foreign volunteer platoon in the country’s war against Russia.
Meanwhile, Cornwall Council again agreed to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent from April.
A controversial proposal to build a 400-lodge luxury resort on more than 170 acres of agricultural land on the outskirts of Newquay was been approved despite a huge amount of opposition. Kingsley Leisure Developments was given approval by a Cornwall Council strategic planning committee to build the Green Ridge Resort on land near Colan and Quintrell Downs. Some 250 of the properties will be for sale as holiday homes.
The Watering Hole on Perranporth beach announced that work on its new rooftop bar would start this month. Also in the regeneration world was the Buttermarket in Redruth which reopened as a foodie quarter following a £4m regeneration investment.
Dean Richards, 43, who spent the past seven years battling the marine authorities for the right to anchor his own boat on foreshore he owns at a Cornish quay in Point near Truro, was found guilty of “carrying out a marine licensable activity without a licence” and faced paying £20,000 costs.
Anger was growing in an area where a developer proposed to build what would be the biggest solar farm in Cornwall. Residents of the Carland Cross area said they feared that if permission was granted for the 210-acre solar park it would severely affect food production, local businesses and the beauty of a rolling green valley.
Shane Jenkin, now 45, gouged Tina Nash’s eyes out during a 12-hour attack at her home in Hayle in 2011, while her two children were at the property. In November, Tina feared he could be released as he was up for parole. Cornwall was battered by wind and rain as Storm Bert hit the UK, with pictures taken in Penzance showing huge waves crashing over the promenade.
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Farmers from all over Cornwall travelled to London last week to take part in a protest in Westminster against changes to inheritance tax (IHT) announced in the Budget. Since 1984, agricultural property relief (APR) has allowed small family farms to be exempt from IHT, but from April 2026, those with agricultural assets worth more than £1 million will be liable to the tax at 20 per cent – half the usual rate. The tax is a cause of concern for countless family farms in Cornwall, many of which have been farmed by the same family for generations.
All six Cornwall MPs voted in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill. The historic vote on Friday, with 330 in favour to 275 against, followed five hours of discussion during which MPs shared personal stories. Cornwall’s MPs—Labour’s Anna Gelderd, Noah Law, Perran Moon, and Jayne Kirkham, and Liberal Democrats Ben Maguire and Andrew George—all voted to approve the contentious Bill.
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